Pakistan on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on the Afghan Taliban regime, accusing it of “acting as a proxy of Hindutva designs and abetting terrorism for money.” Islamabad was responding to Kabul’s repeated claims that Pakistan is linked to violence in Nuristan province.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said recent accusations from the Taliban’s so-called Minister for Borders and other regime spokespeople were “self-rhetorical lies.” In its view, the claims are meant to distract from the oppression, dissent and instability the regime faces at home.
Pakistan’s Response to the Afghan Taliban
The ministry said the Afghan Taliban “remain willingly oblivious to their un-Islamic abetment of terror,” adding that they act as a proxy for Hindutva designs to satisfy the greed of a few of their leaders.
It argued that destabilising the region for money, on behalf of foreign agencies, is pushing the Taliban down a self-destructive path that lacks dignity and honour. The ministry also described the regime’s public statements as a sign of despair and frustration over its failure to manage its own problems.
The statement repeated Pakistan’s position that the Afghan Taliban are a non-inclusive and non-representative regime that imposes itself on the Afghan people through force and oppression. Their attempts to blame Pakistan, it said, only expose their own internal failings.
Background to the Nuristan Allegations
Wednesday’s statement followed Pakistan’s categorical rejection, on September 27, of Taliban claims that Pakistani security forces and intelligence agencies were linked to violence in Nuristan. The ministry had called those claims “frivolous, baseless and devoid of any truth.”
In a statement earlier this week, the ministry said no evidence had been offered to support the allegations of Pakistani involvement. It noted there were no identities, documents, communications, forensic evidence or independent verification.
The ministry also rejected a viral video that the Taliban cited in support of their claims. According to Islamabad, it showed unarmed individuals who were not properly dressed or equipped, in what looked like a pre-planned video shoot.
What the Taliban Claimed
The Taliban’s Ministry of Defence alleged that Daesh-affiliated groups crossed the Durand Line into Nuristan’s Kamdesh district with Pakistani support. It said its forces killed 28 alleged infiltrators and captured 32 others. Pakistan dismissed the claims in full.
The ministry pointed out that successive UN reports and other neutral international organisations have documented the presence and activities of terrorist groups inside Afghanistan. Attempts to invent a Pakistani connection, it said, cannot hide the fact that these groups continue to find sanctuary on Afghan territory.
Pakistan has urged the Taliban to take credible action against terrorist organisations operating from Afghan soil. It also called on Kabul to honour its commitments that Afghan territory would not be used against Pakistan or any other country.
