Taliban has accused Pakistan of destabilising Afghanistan through terrorism, drug trade, and supporting terror groups.
New Delhi: In its recent annual report, the Taliban’s Central Commission for Security and Clearance Affairs, a division of the Afghanistan defence ministry, has accused Pakistan of destabilising Afghanistan and enabling regional terrorism.
The report, issued on January 22, after an annual meeting chaired by the Taliban’s acting defence minister, Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, highlights concerns about Pakistan’s role in facilitating anti-Afghan terrorism and undermining security through terrorism and drug trafficking.
The Central Commission for Security and Clearance Affairs is a crucial part of the Taliban’s security apparatus, responsible for managing both internal and external security concerns. Its functions include overseeing national security, intelligence gathering, counterterrorism operations, and eliminating various security threats. It operates under the defence ministry.
These findings, shared with The Sunday Guardian, came days after Indian diplomats, in a first-of-its-kind effort, met senior Taliban leaders and ministers in Kabul in November.
According to the defence ministry’s findings, chemical substances used for drug processing are being smuggled into Afghanistan through various deceptive methods from neighbouring countries, including Pakistan. Notably, regions along the Af-Pak border, such as Aranai, Loralai, and Gulistan in Balochistan, Pakistan, are identified as key areas where opium is extensively grown.
According to the findings, Afghan refugees are employed in these areas as labourers, farmers, and processors of opium, making these regions central to the illicit drug trade affecting South Asia, which Afghanistan is often falsely accused of fuelling.
The Taliban has stated that these narcotics activities, primarily conducted in Pakistan, are intentionally attributed to Afghanistan to tarnish the country’s image and undermine its anti-drug efforts.
Additionally, the Taliban claims that Pakistan is tacitly supporting terror groups by sheltering and allowing their regrouping in its tribal areas. The report states that these terrorists have received support in the form of training camps, fundraising facilities, and recruitment operations in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The Taliban alleges that these groups, previously suppressed in Afghanistan, have been given refuge in these regions with the approval of Pakistani authorities. Credible intelligence suggests that these terrorists are being sent to Pakistan via Karachi and Islamabad airports, with plans to carry out future attacks in Afghanistan and possibly other regions.
While the Taliban reports that many attacks carried out by these terror groups in Afghanistan have been thwarted over the past year, it remains concerned about the continued external support they receive, which threatens to destabilise the system the Taliban has established in Afghanistan.
Further detailing Pakistan’s role in the region, the Taliban claims that many of the attackers responsible for violence in Afghanistan are foreign nationals, with a significant number coming from Pakistan. These attackers are said to enter Afghanistan under various guises to carry out violent activities. The report has also emphasises that most of the attacks have been planned and launched from outside Afghanistan, particularly from Pakistan.
According to the report, these terror groups are actively working to deter foreign investment and disrupt Afghanistan’s economic growth, further exacerbating the country’s struggle for stability and prosperity.
On December 15, The Sunday Guardian reported how the assassination of Afghan Minister for Refugees and Repatriation, Khalil ur Rehman Haqqani, and four others in a suicide bombing near a mosque in Kabul’s high-security zone could derail the Taliban’s efforts to attract foreign investors and project stability. (High-profile killing in Kabul threatens Taliban’s investment aspirations)
The report from the Central Commission for Security and Clearance Affairs states that the Afghanistan government is enhancing its border security, especially along the Durand Line, which divides Afghanistan and Pakistan. The goal is to prevent the flow of terrorists and drugs