Militants using Afghan soil to attack Pakistan is Islamabad’s ‘biggest concern’
Pakistan’s caretaker foreign minister Jalil Abbas Jilani said on Wednesday the “biggest concern” currently facing Pakistan was a threat from militant groups using Afghanistan’s soil to carry out attacks on his country.
According to Pakistani officials, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), have become emboldened since the Islamic Emirate regained power in Afghanistan in August 2021 and have found sanctuaries in Afghanistan.
Since a ceasefire was called of by the TTP in November, there has been a spike in attacks in Pakistan. However, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has repeatedly rejected claims that the TTP are using Afghanistan’s soil to carry out attacks and have said no group in the country is a threat to foreign nations.
“For Pakistan, the biggest concern right now is the enhanced terrorist threat from TTP and ISK (Daesh), and their ability to use Afghan soil to launch attacks against Pakistan”, Jilani said while speaking at the Asia Society in New York on the sidelines of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
“We remain closely engaged with the Afghan interim administration on this issue, and while we are committed to fighting and defeating the terrorists, we wish to highlight that terrorist organizations trying to gain a foothold in Afghanistan should be treated as a threat to the neighborhood and the entire international community.”
Jilani said Pakistan was aligned with the international community on human rights violations in Afghanistan, particularly with regards to women’s rights, employment and education.
“We will continue to raise these issues with the Afghan interim administration [but] we believe that instead of coercive measures, engaging the Afghan interim government is much more likely to deliver results. Equally important is to avert the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan,” Jilani said.
Earlier in the day, the Pakistani minister met with the US Special Representative on Afghanistan, Thomas West, in New York.