Pak “Regime” Must Consider Repercussions of Its Actions, Says Taliban’s Defence Minister

As the mass deportation of Afghan immigrants has started in Pakistan, Mullah Yaqoob, the Taliban's defence minister, urged Islamabad to "consider the repercussions of its actions" and that it will "reap what it sows”.

In an audio tape released by the Taliban, Mullah Yaqoob called the government of Pakistan a "regime".

In this six-and-a-half-minute audio file that was released on Friday, Yaqoob speaks about various aspects of the mass deportation of Afghan immigrants from Pakistan.

He called Pakistan's decision to deport Afghan immigrants a unilateral decision that is unacceptable to the Taliban government and said, "This is a cruel decision that was imposed on Afghans and has caused them problems."

In another part of his speech, the Taliban’s Defence Minister urged Pakistan not to oppress Afghans, take their personal property, or confiscate their properties.

Mullah Yaqoob stressed that Pakistan cannot confiscate the property of immigrants based on any law or principle.

The Taliban's defence minister emphasised on the group's commitment to prevent the confiscation of assets and properties of Afghan immigrants, vowing not to allow anyone to "steal the properties of our Afghan brothers" under any circumstances.

It seems that the fate of the properties and assets of Afghan immigrants following their expulsion from Pakistan is one of the disputed issues between the Pakistani government and the Taliban.

In a statement on Thursday, the Taliban embassy in Islamabad also announced that the group's ambassador had a meeting with the interior minister of the interim government of Pakistan and discussed the transfer of assets of Afghan refugees.

The details of these talks are not yet clear.