Pakistani spy chief rejects President Ghani’s allegations its fighters infiltrating Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD: Chief of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed on Friday dismissed a statement made by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani during an international summit in Uzbekistan wherein he claimed that “jihadi fighters” were entering his country from Pakistan and other places in the world.
Hameed denied the allegation while talking to Geo News in Tashkent, adding it was Pakistan that faced the threat of infiltration from Afghanistan.
“We want peace in the neighboring country since a peaceful and stable Afghanistan is in the interest of Pakistan and other countries,” he maintained.
The ISI chief reiterated his country was not supporting any faction in Afghanistan and was interested in a negotiated settlement among all Afghan groups.
Earlier, the Afghan president claimed in his speech that Pakistan was supporting the Taliban while asking Islamabad to use its influence with the group to facilitate peace in Afghanistan.
“Intelligence estimates indicate the influx of over 10,000 jihadi fighters from Pakistan and other places in the last month as well as support from their affiliates and the transnational terrorist organizations,” Ghani told the Uzbekistan summit focusing on regional connectivity between South and Central Asia.
Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was also present at the gathering, told the Afghan leader it was “extremely unfair” to blame his country for what was going on in Afghanistan.
“I feel really disappointed that we have been blamed for what is going on in Afghanistan,” he said during his speech. “What is happening in Afghanistan is over two decades of conflict, deep divisions and, unfortunately, the United States seeking a military solution where there was not one.”
Khan said the best time to bring the Taliban to the table was when there were 150,000 troops in Afghanistan.
“Why is Taliban going to compromise when the exit date was given and with only a few thousand American troops left [in Afghanistan],” he asked. “Why would they [the Taliban] listen to us when they are sensing victory?“