In unprecedented move, Pakistan charges Afghan authorities with ‘facilitating’ militants

ISLAMABAD: In an unprecedented development, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on Wednesday blamed Afghanistan’s interim administration for not doing enough to address Pakistan’s security concerns by clamping down on militants operating from its territory, adding there was also some evidence of “facilitation” implicating the Taliban authorities in certain cases.

Pakistan has tried to convince the international community to constructively engage the Afghan Taliban since they swept back to power about two years ago, asking countries across the world to help ease Afghanistan’s financial constraints to prevent yet another humanitarian catastrophe in the region.

At the same time, officials in Islamabad have blamed a recent surge in militant violence in Pakistan on a proscribed network, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), whose leaders are said to be based in Afghanistan, asking the government in Kabul not to allow its soil to be used for attacks against Pakistan.

However, the Pakistani PM’s strongly worded statement is the first high-profile public display of his country’s discontent with Afghanistan, indicating a near-collapse of the previously cordial ties between the two countries.

Addressing a news conference in Islamabad, Kakar said militant violence had increased by 60 percent and suicide bombings had shot up by 500 percent since the formation of the interim Afghan administration.

“In the last two years, 2,267 innocent Pakistanis have lost their lives for which TTP terrorists are responsible who have been using the Afghan territory to launch cowardly attacks in Pakistan,” he said. “During this period, 15 Afghan nationals were found involved in suicide bombings. Apart from that, 64 Afghan citizens have also died while fighting Pakistan’s law enforcing agencies.”

The prime minister said Afghan authorities were aware of these details since his country had been sharing all this information with them since February on a fortnightly basis.

Pakistan Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq (left) speaks during a press conference in Islamabad, Pakistan, on November 8, 2023. (PID)

The prime minister also made a startling revelation, saying that Pakistan gave a stark choice to officials in Kabul through a delegation led by its defense minister after a deadly suicide bombing in the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in February that claimed more than 100 lives.

“The delegation communicated the country’s strong reservations to the Afghan authorities and clearly told them to choose between Pakistan or the TTP,” he continued.

“Despite the guarantees by the Afghan interim government, no concrete steps were taken against anti-Pakistan terrorist groups,” he added. “In fact, evidence of facilitation of terrorists emerged on certain occasions.”

The prime minister said Pakistan had decided to address its security problems on its own, many of which, he maintained, were created by illegal immigrants who had been asked by his government to leave in October.

He observed the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan had since issued misleading and hostile statements which were “regrettable.”

Kakar said the uptick in militant attacks following these assertions was “not only meaningful but also endorsed Pakistan’s suspicions.”

The prime minister’s media talk came ahead of his departure to Uzbekistan where he is scheduled to attend the 16th Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Summit.

Among other Central Asian nations, Afghanistan is also a member state of the regional forum.