PM calls out Afghan Taliban on terror spike

Kakar says eviction of illegal Afghans a response to Kabul’s unwillingness to act against militants

ISLAMABAD:

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Wednesday spoke openly about non-cooperation of the Afghan Taliban regime in stemming the resent spike of terrorist incidents in the country, particularly the activities of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Addressing a news conference in Islamabad before his departure for Tashkent to attend the 16th Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Summit, Kakar linked the increase in terror incidents in Pakistan to the Afghanistan Taliban’s return to power in 2021.

He stressed that that the move to expel hundreds of thousands of undocumented Afghans was a response to the unwillingness of the Taliban-led administration to act against terrorists using their soil to carry out attacks in Pakistan.

He said Pakistan had continuously conveyed concerns about militant safe havens in Afghanistan but, despite repeated assurances, the Taliban-led administration had not taken any action, adding that 15 suicide bombings in recent months had been carried out by Afghans.

The Afghan Taliban returned to power in August 2021 after the US drawdown following two decades of war. The Doha Accord, which led to US exit from Afghanistan had stipulated the Taliban’s assurances that the Afghan soil would not be used for terrorism against any country, including Pakistan.

But things began to change after Pakistan realised that the Afghan Taliban were not interested in eliminating the threat posed by the outlawed TTP, though Islamabad, through diplomatic channels, pushed the Afghan Taliban government to tackle the threat.

When the Afghan Taliban refused to listen, a high-powered Pakistan delegation comprising the defence minister and director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) delivered a clear message in February —choose between Pakistan and the TTP.

“[We had hoped] strict action would be taken against Pakistan-opposing groups, especially the TTP, and they would absolutely not be allowed to use the Afghan soil against Pakistan,” Kakar said. He also suggested that the Afghan Taliban did not reciprocate the help Pakistan extended to their government.

“After the establishment of the interim Afghan government, there has been a 60% increase in terror incidents and a 500% rise in suicide attacks in Pakistan. In the past two years, 2,267 innocent citizens lost lives in this tragic bloodshed for which the TTP is responsible,” he continued.

“[At least] 15 Afghan citizens were among the people involved in suicide attacks. Apart from this, till now, 64 Afghan citizens have been killed, while fighting Pakistan’s law-enforcement agencies, during the counterterrorism campaign,” he said.

The prime minister’s hard-hitting press conference came after multiple incidents of terrorism in the past week, including an assault on the Mianwali Training Airbase, claimed by the Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan; an ambush in Gwadar claimed by the Balochistan Liberation Front and clashes in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

According to a ‘Global Terrorism Data’ report, the impact of terrorism had increased slightly in Pakistan. Pakistan’s military continued efforts to disarm and eliminate terrorist sleeper cells …, which meant that the military were the most common target of attacks.

"After non-cooperation by the Afghan interim government, Pakistan has decided to take matters into its own hands – and Pakistan's recent actions are neither unexpected or surprising," Kakar told journalists, as he stressed that the eviction of illegal Afghans would continue.

Last month, the government set a November 1 start date for the expulsion of all undocumented immigrants, including hundreds of thousands of Afghans. It cited security reasons, brushing off calls to reconsider from the United Nations, rights groups and Western embassies.

(WITH INPUT FROM AGENCIES)