'Clear as daylight': Tarar says Afghanistan's unprovoked attacks expose Taliban-terrorist nexus
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar addresses a press conference in Islamabad on Friday. — SCREENGRAB
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Friday said that the "unprovoked attacks" by the "illegitimate" Afghan Taliban government had rendered its nexus with terrorists “clear as daylight” as he slammed it for training and facilitating militant elements.
Pakistani forces targeted key military installations of the Afghan Taliban regime in Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia through effective airstrikes, early on Friday. The military spokesperson said the ongoing ‘Operation Ghazab Lil Haq’ against the Afghan Taliban was producing the desired results and continued successfully.
He said Pakistan had “effectively repulsed” Afghan Taliban insurgents at 53 locations along the border, inflicting heavy losses while exercising restraint to avoid civilian harm.
Read: Military targets struck in Kabul as ‘Operation Ghazab Lil Haq’ continues amid global calls for calm
Providing details regarding 'Operation Ghazab Lil Haq' during a press conference, Tarar said Afghanistan carried out unprovoked attacks against Pakistan, which were responded to in a very effective manner. “Not only were the attackers neutralised, they also fled, leaving behind their weapons and dead bodies of their comrades,” he added.
He said that the nexus between the terrorists and the Afghan Taliban regime is as clear as daylight, adding that they have long maintained that there is a link between suicide and terrorist attacks carried out in Pakistan and the use of Afghan soil for such activities.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar says Pakistan responded firmly to unprovoked Afghan Taliban attacks along the Pak-Afghan border, forcing militants to flee with heavy losses, while reiterating the Taliban’s link with terrorists and their lack of legitimacy or popular support… pic.twitter.com/4vc12GG1hX
While slamming the Afghan Taliban regime for training and facilitating terrorists, Tarar said that these militants kill innocent civilians, security personnel, officers and jawans of the armed forces. He also recalled the recent attacks in the federal capital, where an imambargah and a district court were targeted.
“Afghan soil is not being used; but, the Afghan Taliban regime is fully aligned with these terrorists and is completely backing these terrorists,” he said.
The minister described the Afghan Taliban as an illegitimate regime, ruling through repression and targeting women, minorities, and children while cracking down on basic human rights. He further warned that the regime has legalised slavery and violence, in violation of all human rights norms and international resolutions.
“It is an illegitimate regime and it has come into power by force without any legitimate process and it is a regime which is based on perversion of religion, it uses religion for its own authoritarian purposes in order to further its own vested interests and motives,” Tarar said.
Also Read: Pakistan Army to continue ‘Op Ghazab Lil Haq’ until ‘desired results’ achieved: DG ISPR
Criticising the Afghan Taliban regime for violating fundamental principles of international human rights and Islamic law, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar particularly highlighted the violence against women.
“Violence against women has not been regulated or brought under any law, so they basically impose a duty on people to prevent a voice and to take law into their own hands. This is vigilant justice, which is allowed,” he said.
The minister added that the regime maintains a force of 3,000 personnel to enforce its directives, describing the situation as “normalising abuses as a perversion of religion.” He said women’s lives are considered inferior in the regime, with restrictions barring them from public parks, gyms, and other recreational spaces, alongside a ban on female education.
He said that people across all sections of Afghan society neither support the Taliban nor subscribe to their ideology.
Tarar added that Pakistan’s response was its right and reaffirmed that the country would continue to combat terrorism and the extremist ideology behind it.
Afghan terror networks must be shut down, says Ahsan Iqbal
Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal said that Pakistan now has the right to respond following an attack from Afghanistan, adding that the country’s political and military leadership has reached a consensus on adopting a zero-tolerance policy against terrorism.
Speaking on a private television channel, the minister said that despite Pakistan’s continuous efforts through diplomatic channels and engagement with brotherly nations, the unending wave of terrorism has continued. Following recent attacks originating from Afghanistan, the leadership has decided that Pakistan will respond decisively.
He said the “factories of terrorism” in Afghanistan, from which civilians, security forces, officers, and jawans are targeted—particularly in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan—must now be shut down.
“There will now be zero tolerance for terrorism, and it must be addressed decisively. In the past, many efforts were made to stop this cycle, but Pakistan’s political and military leadership are now united in their determination not to allow anyone to play with Pakistan’s sovereignty,” he said.
Read: PM visits GHQ, vows ‘zero tolerance’ for Afghan Taliban-TTP nexus
“No one will be allowed to act as India’s proxy and carry out terrorism inside Pakistan. Any action taken in response to activities from Afghanistan will be pursued fully and decisively, ensuring that in the future, incidents of this kind and support from Afghanistan will not occur,” Iqbal added.
The minister also highlighted what he described as a strong nexus between the Afghan government and terrorist groups, stating that the Afghan authorities and their people must decide whether to continue sheltering these organisations, which could create problems for them internationally. He cited concerns expressed by the global community—including Russia, China, and the United States—over terrorism emanating from Afghanistan.
“The Afghan government must decide whether it wants to become a haven for terrorist groups in the world or play a constructive role for the development of its people and for peace in the region,” he said.
Iqbal added that Pakistan has taken a firm decision to prevent the blood of its people from being shed at the hands of terrorists. “Any suicide attack will be met with a strong response inside Afghanistan,” he said.