Pakistan: Afghanistan Must Not Become Haven for Terrorist Groups

DIDPress: During the first round of political talks with the Taliban’s interim government, Pakistan’s Deputy Foreign Minister warned that the presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan threatens regional security.

In the first round of political consultations between Pakistan and the Taliban’s interim government, Pakistani officials urged serious measures to counter terrorist groups in Afghanistan.

During the meeting, Ali Asad Gilani, Pakistan’s Deputy Foreign Minister, said the presence of militant groups in Afghanistan endangers regional security.

He emphasized that groups such as the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), ISIS-Khorasan (ISKP), and Baloch insurgents use Afghan soil to carry out attacks against Pakistan, and this situation is no longer tolerable.

The Pakistani official also underlined that since the Taliban’s takeover in 2021, cross-border attacks have increased, while some of these attacks allegedly carried out by “India-backed terrorists.”

He further warned about the connections between various terrorist groups, adding that their collaboration could jeopardize Pakistan’s economic projects.

Pakistan also expressed concern over the humanitarian crisis caused by the influx of over one million undocumented Afghan migrants into the country and demanded greater international cooperation in managing the issue.

Despite these concerns, Pakistani officials affirmed that Islamabad still seeks economic cooperation with Afghanistan.

They cited projects such as the TAPI gas pipeline, the CASA-1000 electricity transmission project, and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as key examples of bilateral cooperation between the two countries.