ISLAMABAD(National Times)- Pakistan on Wednesday castigated the Afghan Taliban regime for “acting as a proxy of Hindutva designs and abetting terrorism for money”, as Islamabad slammed Kabul over repeated allegations linking Pakistan to violence in Nuristan province.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said the latest allegations by the Taliban’s so-called Minister for Borders and other regime mouthpieces were “self-rhetorical lies” aimed at diverting attention from serious internal oppression, dissent and instability faced by the regime.
“Afghan Taliban unfortunately remain willingly oblivious to their un-Islamic abetment of terror, acting as proxy to Hindutva design for the sake of greed of a few of their leaders,” the statement said.
The ministry said this rentier approach of destabilising the region for money as a proxy of foreign agencies was leading the Taliban toward a self-destructive path, devoid of dignity and honour.
It described the regime’s statements as reflecting despair and frustration at its inability to handle its own issues.
The ministry reiterated that the Afghan Taliban were a non-inclusive and non-representative regime imposing themselves upon the Afghan people by force and oppression, and that their comical attempts to externalise internal issues through rhetoric directed at Pakistan only reflected their own internal failings.
The statement followed Pakistan’s categorical rejection on September 27 of Taliban allegations linking Pakistani security forces and intelligence agencies to violence in Afghanistan’s Nuristan province, which the ministry had called “frivolous, baseless and devoid of any truth.”
In a statement earlier this week, the ministry had said not a shred of evidence had been produced to substantiate Pakistan’s alleged involvement — no identities, documents, communications, forensic evidence or independent verification.
It also dismissed a viral video being used to support the Taliban’s claims, saying it merely showed unarmed individuals not properly dressed or equipped, in what appeared to be a pre-planned video shoot.
The Taliban’s Ministry of Defence had claimed that groups affiliated with Daesh had crossed the Durand Line into Nuristan’s Kamdesh district with Pakistani support, saying their forces had killed 28 alleged infiltrators and captured 32 others. Pakistan had dismissed the claims in full.
The ministry had also noted that successive UN reports and other neutral international organisations had documented the presence and activities of terrorist groups inside Afghanistan, and that attempts to manufacture a Pakistani connection could not obscure the reality that these groups continued to find sanctuary on Afghan territory.
Pakistan had urged the Taliban to take credible action against terrorist organisations operating from Afghan soil and fulfil commitments that Afghan territory would not be used against Pakistan or any other country.
