KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has accused India of backing terrorist groups based in Afghanistan to undermine Pakistan’s security.
Speaking at a press briefing on Friday, ministry spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said groups like Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) are acting as Indian proxies, using Afghan soil to launch attacks against Pakistan.
Khan said the issue has been a key topic in talks with the Afghan Taliban, adding that Islamabad has noticed a “better receptivity” from Kabul in recent discussions.
He stressed that Pakistan expects the Taliban to take decisive action against these groups and prevent them from using Afghanistan as a launchpad for cross-border attacks.
Violence in Pakistan’s border regions has surged since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. The TTP, which shares ideological ties with the Afghan Taliban, has increased attacks on Pakistani forces, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
A recent report by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) estimated that the TTP has between 6,000 and 6,500 fighters in Afghanistan and launched 193 attacks in Pakistan in the last quarter. In June, a TTP faction carried out a deadly attack that killed 13 Pakistani soldiers and wounded several civilians
Islamabad has repeatedly urged the Taliban to crack down on militant groups operating from its territory. But the Taliban denies the presence of TTP fighters in Afghanistan, claiming the group operates from within Pakistan.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has previously said Afghanistan is not responsible for Pakistan’s internal security challenges.
