Militant Attacks From Afghan Soil ‘Intolerable’, Says Pakistan Envoy
Pakistan’s ambassador to the United Nations said militant attacks from Afghanistan into Pakistan have increased sharply and described the situation as “intolerable”.
Pakistan’s ambassador to the United Nations said militant attacks from Afghanistan into Pakistan have increased sharply and described the situation as “intolerable”.
Asim Iftikhar Ahmad accused the Taliban authorities of failing to rein in armed groups operating from Afghan territory.
His remarks follow a wave of attacks by Baloch separatists in different parts of Pakistan’s Balochistan province. In response, the Pakistan Army launched military operations over the past two days, saying it killed 145 militants.
Pakistan’s military has again accused India of supporting Baloch militants, an allegation New Delhi denies.
Speaking to the newspaper Dawn, Ahmad said the Afghan Taliban were sheltering Pakistani militants and that those groups were also backed by India.
He referred to recent remarks by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who called on the Taliban to prevent Pakistani militants from using Afghan territory.
At a news conference on January 30, Guterres said the United Nations was concerned about militant attacks in Pakistan, including those linked to the Pakistani Taliban.
Ahmad said the Taliban had failed to uphold commitments made to the United States under the 2020 Doha agreement, in which they pledged to prevent militants from using Afghan soil.
He said a UN monitoring team had also reported a significant presence of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan in Afghanistan alongside the Balochistan Liberation Army, and their activities against Pakistan from Afghan territory.
Ahmad added that Pakistan would take all necessary measures to confront and eliminate the threat and was determined to achieve that goal.
