Pakistan’s COAS says Afghans’ hand in terror incidents harmful to regional peace
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir on Monday said the “involvement of Afghan nationals” in terrorism incidents in Pakistan was “detrimental to regional peace [and] stability”, Dawn news reported.
The army chief’s remarks came days after the Foreign Office confirmed the involvement of Afghan terrorists in last month’s Zhob cantonment attack.
A statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Monday said that Munir addressed the incident during a visit to the Martyrs’ Memorial at Bala Hisar Fort in Peshawar, where he met tribal elders among others.
“The involvement of Afghan nationals in terrorist incidents in Pakistan is detrimental to regional peace, stability and deviation from the Doha Peace Agreement by the interim Afghan government,” he is quoted as saying.
The agreement was signed in Qatar between the US and Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) in February 2020 to bring an end to the 2001–2021 war in Afghanistan.
Expressing concerns over the “sanctuaries available to banned outfits and [the] liberty of action they enjoy on Afghan soil”, Munir said: “Pakistan will spare no effort to dismantle terrorist networks and protect its citizens at all costs.”
The ISPR statement further quoted the COAS as saying: “With the unflinching resolve of the nation, Pakistan is successfully countering terrorism to enable a stable and peaceful environment for socioeconomic development in the area”.
It added that tribal elders assured the armed forces that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its ideology will “never be acceptable to any tribe and they will continue to stand with the state during the thick and thin.”
Pakistan has repeatedly raised concerns over the use of Afghan soil by militants for cross-border terrorism.
However, the Islamic Emirate has repeatedly rejected these claims. Last week,the IEA’s spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said that Pakistani officials are making baseless accusations against Afghanistan regarding the country’s security situation.
He said: “The Islamic Emirate does not allow anyone to use the territory of Afghanistan against any other country.”
“If there is any concern related to this, it should be shared with the Islamic Emirate face to face, instead of making useless claims in the media and confusing the public mind,” Mujahid said adding: “Because making such claims is not in the interest of both countries and nations.”
The country has seen an uptick in terror activities, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, after the TTP called off its ceasefire with the government in November last year.