Taliban Sheltering Anti-State Militants Under Cover Of Refugees, Says Pakistan

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a detailed statement on Sunday that the Taliban in Afghanistan has been providing refuge to anti-Pakistan militant groups.

They include Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Baloch separatists, and avoids any verifiable action against them, the statement said.

The statement, issued on 8 November in response to questions about the deadlock in the third round of Pakistan-Taliban talks in Istanbul, said that despite Islamabad’s repeated requests, the Taliban had failed to take steps that were tangible, measurable, and confirmable.

According to the ministry, militant attacks inside Pakistan have intensified since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021. Officials said expectations that the Taliban would restrain such groups had not been met, and that instead, the regime had offered them protection under the guise of hosting refugees.

The foreign ministry said Pakistan had taken what it described as positive steps, including facilitating trade, providing humanitarian assistance, easing student and medical visas, and encouraging the international community to engage with the Taliban. It said the Taliban’s response amounted only to unfulfilled assurances.

The statement added that the Taliban had repeatedly attempted to dilute Pakistan’s central demand, action against groups targeting Pakistan, by linking it to what Islamabad viewed as irrelevant or hypothetical issues. This approach, the ministry said, appeared designed to create a narrative that freed the Taliban of responsibility toward both the international community and the Afghan people.

Pakistan reiterated that the TTP and Baloch separatists were declared enemies of the state and that any actor offering them refuge or financial support could not be considered a friend of Pakistan.

While the statement emphasised that diplomacy should remain the preferred approach, it said the Taliban had evaded earlier commitments throughout all three rounds of talks and seemed interested only in prolonging the temporary ceasefire rather than resolving core issues.

The ministry also accused the Taliban of trying to frame the presence of TTP and Baloch fighters in Afghanistan as a humanitarian problem. It said the TTP had fought alongside the Afghan Taliban for years and that Kabul was now offering these fighters and their families sanctuary as a reward for their loyalty. The statement further alleged that TTP training camps operate inside Afghanistan and are used to plan attacks against Pakistan.

The remarks came after Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid acknowledged that tribal migrant families including some linked to Pakistani militants had been moved to central Afghanistan and housed in designated camps. Afghanistan International previously reported, through an investigative inquiry, that in January 2025 the Taliban had secretly relocated dozens of families affiliated with the TTP to Ghazni province.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry warned that what it described as the Taliban’s hollow assurances would no longer be sufficient and said that decisive measures were now required to safeguard Pakistani lives and national interests.