ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s information ministry on Monday accused the Afghan Taliban regime of trying to divert attention from the terrorist threat emanating from Afghanistan, pointing to a United Nations Security Council report that estimated around 6,000 Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) fighters were present on Afghan soil.
In a statement issued on Monday, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said the regime’s attempts to deflect attention could not change the documented facts about Afghan Taliban terrorist sanctuaries inside Afghanistan. It said the Afghan Taliban must address the threat through concrete action rather than denial.
The ministry cited the UNSC Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team’s sixteenth report, which put the number of TTP fighters in Afghanistan at approximately 6,000 and reported Taliban support for the group.
“The findings of the UN Security Council report cannot credibly be dismissed as Pakistani propaganda,” the ministry said.
UN report at the centre of the charge
The statement leaned heavily on the UN monitoring team’s findings. According to the ministry, the report documented not just the presence of thousands of TTP fighters in Afghanistan but also the Taliban regime’s support for the group.
Islamabad has long argued that the TTP plans and launches cross-border attacks from Afghan territory. The ministry’s statement repeated that position and added that the responsibility to end the use of Afghan territory for attacks against Pakistan rested squarely with the regime in Kabul.
It also said Pakistan remained committed to dialogue but warned that meaningful progress required the Afghan Taliban to honour its counterterrorism commitments and take verifiable action against terrorist sanctuaries and support networks.
“Pakistan will take all necessary measures, in accordance with international law, to protect its citizens, defend its sovereignty and safeguard its territorial integrity,” the statement added.
Governance record also criticised
The ministry’s statement went beyond security. It also took aim at the Taliban regime’s governance and human rights record, saying its attempts to lecture others on governance and citizens’ rights rang hollow.
It pointed to restrictions on girls’ education and violations of fundamental human rights as evidence.
The criticism lands at a moment of high tension between the two countries. Pakistan carried out calibrated airstrikes on militant hideouts inside Afghanistan on October 1, which it said killed 22 terrorists. Afghanistan’s Taliban administration claimed civilians were killed, a charge Pakistan denied.
Days later, at the Moscow Format meeting on Afghanistan, talks ended without a joint statement after disagreements between Islamabad and Kabul.
Afghan Taliban terrorist sanctuaries: a pattern of Pakistani complaints
Monday’s statement is not an isolated complaint. At his weekly briefing on October 9, the Foreign Office spokesperson said the TTP and the banned Balochistan Liberation Army had safe havens in Kabul and elsewhere in Afghanistan, and that Pakistan had shared the locations of militants with the Taliban authorities.
Islamabad has also pressed the same case at the United Nations. Pakistan’s envoy previously told the Security Council that the Afghan Taliban were supporting terrorist groups operating against Pakistan.
The latest statement fits that pattern, but it is sharper in tone. By tying the accusation to a specific UN monitoring report, the ministry sought to pre-empt the Taliban regime’s standard response that Pakistani claims are propaganda.
Relations between the two countries have deteriorated steadily since the Taliban’s return to power in Kabul. Pakistan says cross-border attacks have risen sharply, while Kabul denies harbouring militants and accuses Islamabad of violating Afghan sovereignty, including through the border clashes earlier this year.
The information ministry’s statement made clear that Islamabad sees the Taliban regime as the party that must move first. Until it takes verifiable action against the sanctuaries, the ministry said, dialogue alone would not be enough.
Frequently asked questions
What did Pakistan’s information ministry say about the Afghan Taliban?
The ministry said on October 12 that the Afghan Taliban regime was trying to divert attention from the terrorist threat emanating from Afghanistan and must take concrete action against terrorist sanctuaries rather than denying them.
What does the UN report say about TTP fighters in Afghanistan?
The ministry cited the UNSC Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team’s sixteenth report, which estimated approximately 6,000 TTP fighters were present in Afghanistan and reported Taliban support for the group.
Why are Pakistan-Afghanistan relations strained?
Pakistan says the TTP and other militant groups operate from sanctuaries in Afghanistan and launch cross-border attacks. It carried out airstrikes on militant hideouts inside Afghanistan on October 1, which Kabul condemned. Kabul denies harbouring militants.
What did Pakistan say about talks with the Afghan Taliban?
The ministry said Pakistan remained committed to dialogue, but meaningful progress required the Afghan Taliban regime to honour its counterterrorism commitments and take verifiable action against terrorist sanctuaries and support networks.
