The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan has urged the Taliban to fulfill its promises that Afghanistan will not be used for terrorism against Pakistan.
Speaking at a weekly press briefing on Thursday, the spokesperson of the Pakistan foreign ministry, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, emphasized that her country is committed to engaging with the Taliban on all aspects of cooperation and shared concerns, including issues relating to terror threats.
“It is their responsibility to ensure that their land is not used against Pakistan,” Baloch said. “Afghan authorities have accepted this responsibility on various occasions,” She added.
The Pakistani government is concerned that the Taliban’s failure to crack down on terrorist groups could destabilize the region and lead to more attacks in Pakistan.
Earlier this month, Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif met with his Tajikistani counterpart, Sherali Mirzo, to discuss the security situation in Afghanistan. Asif said that both Pakistan and Tajikistan are facing similar security threats from Afghanistan and that the Taliban’s failure to crack down on terrorist groups is a major concern for both countries.
A UN Security Council report in June said that the Taliban maintains strong and close links with several terrorist groups in the country, including Al-Qaeda, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement, Jamaat Ansarullah and others.
