Pakistan’s Security Problems Are Its Own, Says Taliban

Speaking at the Balochistan National Workshop in Islamabad on Friday, Sharif said: “We share a 2,000-kilometre border with Afghanistan. We are neighbours and have to live together, but we continue to urge the Afghan interim government not to allow its soil to be used for terrorism against Pakistan.”

His remarks come as Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Taliban in recent months of sheltering members of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and other armed groups. The Taliban have rejected the allegations, saying they will not allow Afghan territory to be used against any country.

Referring to a renewed rise in militant attacks in Pakistan, Sharif said more than 90,000 Pakistani civilians, soldiers and security personnel had lost their lives in the fight against terrorism. He also accused India of supporting terrorist groups but provided no evidence for the claim.

Sharif said Pakistan had largely brought terrorism under control by 2017 and 2018, but that the country must now examine how the threat had re-emerged and expanded.

He also expressed sorrow over Thursday’s attack in Mastung, Balochistan, which killed court judge Abdul Hakeem Kakar and his security guard, saying Pakistan’s security forces and civilians had paid a heavy price to ensure the country’s security.

In another part of his remarks, the prime minister stressed the importance of Balochistan’s development, saying Pakistan could progress only if all of its provinces developed simultaneously.

He announced a 300 billion rupee project for the Karachi-Chaman highway, saying the route, known as the “bloody road” because of its high number of traffic deaths, was expected to be completed within the next two years. Sharif also announced 50 billion rupees in funding to convert about 27,000 agricultural wells in Balochistan to solar power.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari, during a meeting with several Balochistan provincial ministers, called for faster implementation of development projects and stronger coordination between government and security institutions to improve the province’s security and economic situation.

In a statement on Friday, 24 July, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that alongside reviewing developments in Afghanistan, SCO foreign ministers stressed stronger cooperation to build an equal and indivisible security architecture in Eurasia and enhance the organisation’s role in shaping a fairer global order.

At the meeting, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar expressed concern over security developments linked to Afghanistan, saying the threat of terrorism emanating from the country was one of the most serious challenges facing Islamabad.

He urged the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation to press the Taliban to fulfil its counterterrorism commitments and eliminate the safe havens of armed groups.

Dar alleged that groups including the Pakistani Taliban, the Baloch Liberation Army and the East Turkestan Islamic Movement were using Afghan territory for training, recruitment and organising attacks with the Taliban’s tacit approval and facilitation.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described developments in Afghanistan as a major shared concern for countries in the region and called for the formation of an inclusive government representing all ethnic groups in Afghanistan.

He also called for greater regional cooperation within the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation to combat terrorism, extremism and drug trafficking.

Taliban officials have repeatedly rejected allegations that armed groups are present and active in Afghanistan, saying they will not allow the country’s territory to be used against any state.

The front said in a statement on Friday that its operation began on Thursday morning, 23 July, from several directions against Taliban bases, units and military positions in Zebak and was still continuing.

According to the Afghanistan Freedom Front, its fighters pushed Taliban forces out of bases and positions in the highlands surrounding a border post in Zebak.

The group said the Taliban had made several attempts to retake the lost positions but failed, suffering casualties and retreating to their previous positions.

The Afghanistan Freedom Front said at least 37 wounded Taliban members were flown by helicopter to hospitals in Faizabad, the capital of Badakhshan, and several other districts.

The statement said its fighters had seized large quantities of ammunition, light and heavy weapons, military equipment and other combat supplies from the Taliban.

The group said its forces had captured areas from the Taliban and would continue fighting.

The Afghanistan Freedom Front said one of its fighters had been killed in the clashes.

The Taliban had earlier confirmed the fighting and said five attackers had been killed.

Noorullah Nazari, spokesman for the Taliban’s 219 Omar-e-Salis Division in Badakhshan, said a group of armed men tried to enter the Topkhana area of Zebak district from Chitral on Thursday but were confronted by Taliban border forces.

Naji confirmed that the Afghanistan Freedom Front had launched attacks against Taliban forces in Zebak district of Badakhshan.

Writing on X on Friday, Naji said the decisive battle for liberation has entered a new phase. A battle whose end will be freedom, with the people of Afghanistan as the true winners.

Sources had told Afghanistan International that anti-Taliban forces attacked several Taliban posts in Zebak district.

The fighting began on Thursday, and sources confirmed on Friday that clashes between the two sides were continuing.

Taliban officials confirmed the opposition attack and said at least five opposition fighters had been killed.

Naji said full details of the clashes between the Afghanistan Freedom Front and Taliban forces in Badakhshan would soon be released in an official statement.

Some sources said three local Taliban commanders had also been killed in the fighting. The Taliban has not provided any information about casualties among its own forces.

Taliban officials said the clashes involved forces from the 15th Border Brigade but gave no details about casualties among their own ranks.

Officials told Hurriyat Radio, a Taliban-affiliated outlet, that the opposition fighters had allegedly intended to enter Badakhshan from Pakistan to carry out destructive activities.

Taliban sources also claimed that the fighters had bases in Pakistan’s Chitral region and planned to enter Zebak district of Badakhshan through the Shah Salim route.

The sources rejected reports that Mullah Abdul Jamil Rahmani, commander of the Taliban’s 15th Border Brigade, had been killed, saying he was alive and well.

No group or movement has so far claimed responsibility for the attack on Taliban forces.

Sources say both Taliban forces and the attackers suffered casualties in the fighting.

Sources told Afghanistan International on Friday that clashes were still continuing in the Topkhana area of Zebak district in Badakhshan. The fighting began around midday on Thursday.