ISLAMABAD: Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said on Monday a new Afghan government led by the insurgent group would resolve all issues of concern to Pakistan, local media reported.
There is growing fear among Pakistani officials about security in neighboring Afghanistan, as the Taliban tries to form a government and stabilize the country following the departure of US and other foreign forces.
Islamabad is particularly worried about militant fighters from a separate, Pakistani Taliban group crossing from Afghanistan and launching lethal attacks on its territory. Thousands of Pakistanis have been killed in militant violence in the last two decades.
At least three Pakistani paramilitary soldiers were killed and 20 wounded in a suicide attack in the southwest last Sunday, part of a spike in attacks on security forces in recent weeks as Afghanistan fell to the Taliban.
The Pakistani Taliban, many of whose leaders and foot soldiers are believed to live in Afghanistan, claimed responsibility for the attack.
“Pakistan’s concerns as a neighboring country are valid,” Mujahid was quoted by Geo News as saying at a press conference. “Afghanistan’s land will not be used against any country, including Pakistan,” he added.
Mujahid said Afghanistan wanted to engage in economic activity with other nations and was keen to be part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which has seen Beijing pledge over $60 billion for energy and infrastructure projects in Pakistan, central to China’s wider Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to develop land and sea trade routes in Asia and beyond.
Speaking about a future political setup, Mujahid said an “interim” system of government would first be announced in Afghanistan to allow for changes.
“Final decisions have been taken, we are now working on technical issues,” he said. “We will announce the new government as soon as the technical issues are resolved.”
The Taliban have reportedly invited leaders from Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, China, Russia and Qatar to attend the ceremony when the group announces its government.
A key issue for the Taliban is the reopening of the airport in Kabul, which was the scene of a massive US-led evacuation plan that ended last week.
Qatar has been working with the Taliban on getting the airport back up and running, and Mujahid said “serious efforts” were under way to restore operations.
“Technical teams from Qatar, Turkey and UAE are working hard to repair the equipment,” he said, adding that international flights will resume “soon.”
He said that “Afghanistan has the right to be recognized ... The international community should open their embassies in Kabul.”
Will ‘resolve’ Pakistan’s concerns, Taliban say after announcing Panjshir victory
https://arab.news/c2krp
Will ‘resolve’ Pakistan’s concerns, Taliban say after announcing Panjshir victory
- There is growing concern among Pakistani officials about security in neighboring Afghanistan
- Taliban say keen for Afghanistan to be part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor
Blast kills six policemen in northwest Pakistan amid Afghanistan operation
- The explosion targeted a police vehicle in Lakki Marwat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province
- It comes after Pakistan’s overnight ‘precision strikes’ against militant hideouts in Afghanistan
ISLAMABAD: At least six policemen were killed in an explosion in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the interior ministry said on Friday, amid Pakistan’s continuing strikes against alleged militant hideouts in Afghanistan.
The explosion took place in the Lakki Marwat district near a police vehicle following an attempted drone strike by Afghan Taliban forces in Kohat, according to Pakistani officials.
Pakistan has struggled to contain a surge in militant attacks in KP, which borders Afghanistan, by the Pakistani Taliban, who have mounted assaults since the Afghan Taliban’s return to power in 2021.
“The brave soldiers of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police sacrificed their lives today for the nation’s peaceful tomorrow,” Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said, lauding police personnel in the restive region.
In a statement issued from his office, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack in Lakki Marwat and extended his prayers and best wishes for the deceased and injured personnel.
“We will never let sacrifices of police personnel and security forces go in vain,” he said. We are determined to completely eradicate terrorism from the country.”
The bomb attack came a day after two suspected militants were killed and four others were arrested during a joint operation conducted by police, counter-terrorism department and pro-government militias in the same district, police said.
Islamabad accuses Afghanistan’s Taliban government of failing to rein in militant groups that it says use Afghan soil to plan and launch attacks in Pakistan, a charge Kabul denies.
Last month, Pakistan conducted air strikes against what it said were Pakistani Taliban and Daesh targets in Afghanistan, provoking the Afghan side to retaliate across their shared border. The two neighbors have since been locked in a conflict.
