Taliban Accuses Pakistan of Trying to Link DC Shooting to Kabul

DID Press: Suhail Shaheen, the representative of the Taliban government in Qatar, accused Pakistani intelligence agency (ISI) of attempting to link the recent fatal shooting in Washington D.C. to Kabul government, calling the tactic part of a broader campaign to smear the Afghan leadership as a security threat.

In remarks following the November 26 shooting in the U.S. capital, Suhail Shaheen said he believes certain Pakistani security organs are working to portray the shooter’s nationality as evidence against the Taliban leadership. He said these efforts aim to “create a negative image of the caretaker government” and to depict Afghans as a security danger.

The attack, carried out by Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan‑born man granted asylum in the United States under the humanitarian relocation programme following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, resulted in the death of one member of the U.S. National Guard and serious injury to another. U.S. officials identified Lakanwal as the suspect.

Shaheen reiterated that the Taliban government “does not allow” Afghan territory to be used for attacks abroad. He said Islamabad’s alleged attempt to connect the shooting to Kabul is politically motivated, aimed at discrediting Afghan leadership at the cost of tarnishing the entire Afghan community.

Analysts warn that such accusations — even unfounded — risk fueling negative sentiment and hardening immigration and security policies in countries receiving Afghan refugees, following a global wave of concern after the Washington attack. U.S. authorities have already announced suspension of immigration processing for Afghan nationals and begun a sweeping review of vetting procedures for asylum‑seekers from Afghanistan.