DID Press: Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, director general of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), has alleged that Afghan territory has become a base for the activities and training of militant groups, describing the situation as a security threat to Pakistan and the wider region.
In an interview with Al Arabiya, Chaudhry said, citing United Nations reports, that groups including al-Qaeda, Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K), Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) operate in Afghanistan.
He said Pakistan has a responsibility to protect the lives and security of its citizens and would take what it considers necessary measures in response to armed attacks, invoking the right of self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter.
The Pakistani military has previously reported conducting more than 40,000 counterterrorism operations in 2026. According to figures released by Chaudhry in July, security forces carried out 40,348 operations and reported killing 2,084 militants during the first seven months of the year. These figures are Pakistani military claims and have not been independently verified.
The United Nations has separately documented the presence and activities of several militant groups in Afghanistan. Its 38th Monitoring Team report, published in August 2026, said the de facto Afghan authorities continued to provide a “permissive environment” for a range of terrorist groups, particularly the TTP, while the report also assessed IS-K as a significant regional threat.
Chaudhry also rejected the TTP’s characterization of its conflict with Pakistan as a religious war, saying the group’s actions have no connection to Islam.
Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Taliban of failing to take sufficient action against the TTP in Afghanistan. The Taliban has rejected the allegations and said it does not allow Afghan territory to be used against other countries.
Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan over militant activity have escalated in recent years, including through cross-border clashes and Pakistani military operations. The two sides have offered conflicting accounts of responsibility for attacks and military actions.