The government on Monday took strong exception to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi saying the state should provide evidence of Kabul’s soil being used against Pakistan.
In a media interaction at the home of PTI leader Alamgir Khan on Sunday night, Afridi said that the state should give evidence for the claim that Afghanistan’s soil was being used for terrorism in Pakistan. He said that other countries also shared a border with Afghanistan but they did not have the same complaints.
The clip was also shared by state broadcaster PTV on the social media platform X.
In a post on X, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said that Afridi was speaking as Afghanistan’s “spokesperson”, which was highly “condemnable and shameful”.
“The whole world has seen evidence of the Afghan Taliban regime’s support for terrorists, and there is also irrefutable evidence that Afghanistan’s soil is being used for terrorist activities,” Tarar said.
“Sohail Afridi has reached the peak of lies and hypocrisy. The Pakistani nation has made immense sacrifices while fighting terrorists,” he said. He added that whenever the party opened its mouth, they always facilitated terrorists.
“Pakistan’s development is unacceptable to Fitna al Khawarij which is why Pakistan is targeted,” he said. The minister concluded that Afridi needed to “come to his senses”.
Speaking to the media in Islamabad, Minister of State for Interior Affairs Talal Chaudhry said that it had been the PTI’s “consistent policy” to create “uncertainty” on national issues, adding that they also refrained from calling perpetrators of terrorism terrorists.
“They are always reluctant to call terrorists terrorists and say things that spread doubt amongst the common man, he said.
He also held neighbouring countries responsible for terrorism, saying that one was “investing” while the second was “implementing”.
He took strong exception to Afridi’s remarks, saying: “The KP CM, once again, said in Karachi that we should provide the Afghan government with evidence of terrorist activities.
“Do you still not know who’s behind terrorism?” he asked. He said that at least two dozen countries had pointed out that Afghanistan’s soil was being used for terrorism.
“They intentionally spread doubt. They do not want military operations. They do not want to expel illegal Afghans and want to negotiate instead of taking action,” he said.
“There must be a reason for this soft attitude,” Talal said. “They have something in common, and I’ll say it on record: there has not been even a single attack on any PTI leader, worker, adviser, minister in the past 11 years,” he alleged, criticising the party for “spreading doubt”.
“You create ambiguity in the minds of common people, so the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and other groups may operate in KP and also get the sympathies of the common man,” the state minister added.
Speaking about the PTI’s street movement, the state minister questioned whether party leaders had taken the time to meet with the families of martyrs.
“You stand against the national narrative because you are a beneficiary,” Talal said.
“Let me say this again: no matter if you are a chief minister or an ordinary representative, speaking against the national narrative or spreading any doubt will not be tolerated,” he warned.
“We will send you where we are going to send them. If you have such empathy for them, then go to Afghanistan,” Talal stated.
“Over 1,200 people have been martyred; families and children have been killed in bombings; 60-70pc of incidents take place in KP,” he added.