Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry has warned that terrorist groups operating from Afghan territory under the protection of the Taliban pose a serious threat to regional and global security.
Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi made the remarks while commenting on the shooting of two US National Guard members in Washington and the killing of three Chinese nationals on the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border.
At a weekly press briefing on Friday, Andrabi said these incidents underscore the persistent challenge of transnational terrorism. He added that Pakistan has faced numerous attacks over the past two decades that, according to Islamabad, have had links to Afghan-based militants.
The comments came despite repeated accusations by Afghanistan’s former government that Pakistan had long supported the Taliban and provided sanctuary to insurgent groups, claims Islamabad has consistently denied.
Referring to the attack on Chinese workers in Tajikistan, which Dushanbe said was carried out using a drone launched from Afghanistan, Andrabi stressed that Afghan territory must not become a threat to neighbouring or regional countries. The Taliban condemned the killings, saying unnamed actors were attempting to sow distrust among states in the region.
Andrabi also said the shooting of US soldiers by a suspected Afghan national highlighted the global nature of the threat posed by terrorism, urging the international community to strengthen cooperation. He said Pakistan would continue working with the United States to counter terrorism.
The spokesperson said the current ceasefire between Pakistan and the Taliban was “not sustainable,” noting that it was never a conventional agreement between two states. One key condition, he said, was that Afghan soil should not be used for attacks against Pakistan, yet attacks continued, including those involving Afghan citizens.
The ceasefire was brokered in Doha in October by Qatar and Türkiye following Pakistani airstrikes in Paktika, Khost, Nangarhar, and Kabul, and subsequent Taliban retaliation along the border. Andrabi said the agreement was not being upheld in practice.
He strongly rejected Taliban claims that Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) has training centres inside Pakistan, calling the allegations “baseless” and accusing the Taliban of trying to shift responsibility for terrorism originating from their own territory.
The Taliban said Pakistani strikes on 25 November killed nine children and a woman in Gurbuz district of Khost province. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid also accused Pakistan of carrying out airstrikes in Kunar and Paktika that injured four civilians.
He said the Taliban would “respond at the appropriate time.” Pakistan has not claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Relations between Pakistan and the Taliban have sharply deteriorated amid rising border tensions and escalating militant activity on both sides of the frontier.
