ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Information on Friday rejected Afghanistan’s claims that it had targeted alleged terrorist camps in the border regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
In a statement issued through its official fact-check account, the ministry said the Afghan Taliban regime, through various propaganda channels and official statements, had claimed to have used rudimentary drones to strike purported Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) camps in Pakistan’s border areas.
“The claims are false as usual,” the ministry stated, categorically dismissing the allegations.
The statement further asserted that terrorist camps, including those belonging to Daesh and more than two dozen other militant organisations, are in fact located, operated and patronised from territories under the control of the Afghan Taliban regime.
According to the ministry, a rudimentary drone launched by the Taliban regime entered Pakistan’s airspace near Shinko in Khyber district. It said the drone was immediately detected and neutralised by the Pakistan Air Force’s alert air defence system. The ministry also released a photograph of the intercepted drone.
The ministry accused the Taliban regime of routinely issuing “fake and nefarious statements” to conceal its alleged support for terrorist groups operating in neighbouring countries and across the region. It specifically mentioned Daesh, Fitna Al Khawarij and Fitna Al Hindustan among the organisations it said were being patronised.
Pakistan officially uses the term “Fitna Al Khawarij” for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its affiliated groups. Similarly, “Fitna Al Hindustan” refers to militant groups that Islamabad alleges are backed by India to carry out terrorist attacks inside Pakistan.
Earlier on Friday, the Afghan Taliban claimed it had conducted “air strikes” against what it described as terrorist hideouts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, both provinces that share a border with Afghanistan.
The claims come more than a week after Pakistan carried out strikes on terrorist hideouts along the Afghan border. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar had said those operations resulted in the deaths of 26 terrorists.
Pakistan’s strikes were launched following a series of terrorist attacks inside the country that targeted military personnel and police forces.
Islamabad has repeatedly urged the Taliban administration to dismantle terrorist sanctuaries operating on Afghan soil, particularly those linked to the TTP. Pakistani officials maintain that these requests have not been acted upon.
The Afghan Taliban, however, have consistently rejected Pakistan’s allegations, arguing that militancy and terrorism within Pakistan are internal issues.
In February, Pakistan launched Operation Ghazab lil-Haq after what it described as unprovoked firing by Afghan Taliban forces from across the border.
Efforts by China to mediate between Islamabad and Kabul led to talks in Urumqi in April, resulting in a temporary reduction in tensions between the two neighbours. However, hostilities resurfaced following Pakistan’s strikes on June 9.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office has repeatedly emphasised that meaningful progress in bilateral relations with Afghanistan depends on credible counterterrorism commitments from Kabul, particularly assurances that Afghan territory will not be used to launch attacks against Pakistan.
Islamabad has also consistently raised concerns about cross-border terrorism emanating from Afghan soil at international forums, including the United Nations.
Earlier this month, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, told the UN Security Council that Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers must take “verifiable and non-reversible action” against terrorist groups operating from Afghan territory.
“Regrettably, this demand remains unmet,” the ambassador said, reiterating Pakistan’s concerns over the continued presence of militant groups in Afghanistan.