ISLAMABAD: Foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on Tuesday Pakistan could act in “self-defence” against militants hiding in Afghanistan if Afghan authorities failed to take action amid growing attacks in the neighboring country. 

Pakistani leaders, including the chief of its army, have said this month they are seriously concerned that militants had found safe havens in neighboring Afghanistan as Pakistan has seen a rise in terror attacks, including last Sunday’s suicide bombing on a political rally in the country's northwest in which over 50 people were killed. The attack was claimed by Daesh.

Kabul has denied past accusations that it allows militant groups to launch attacks on Pakistan from its territory. As per the Doha peace agreement signed between Afghanistan's Taliban authorities and the US in 2020 when its forces were withdrawing from the country, Kabul has made a commitment not to cooperate with or permit international terror groups or individuals "to recruit, train, raise funds (including through the production or distribution of narcotics), transit Afghanistan or misuse its internationally recognized travel documents, or conduct other support activities in Afghanistan, and will not host them."

“Regarding Pakistan going there [Afghanistan] and taking action against these terrorists, we do not want to be forced to do this, but according to international law, we have the right to self-defence,” Bhutto-Zardari told reporters.

“If we are repeatedly attacked like this, and there is not the appropriate response, we will be forced to do this. But I don't think it should be amongst the first options for us.”

The FM said Kabul’s Taliban government needed to act against Pakistani Taliban (TTP) and other militant groups that were targeting Pakistan.

“Our preference will be that we want the officials there [in Kabul], the interim government, to act against them,” he said.

The FM reminded the Afghan Taliban that they had “promised the world” that they would not allow anyone to use their soil for terrorism under the Doha agreement.

“If they need any help, then I think Pakistan should be prepared to help them,” Bhutto-Zardari added. “

The FM said after the takeover of Kabul by the Afghan Taliban, there had been a “quantitative increase” in terror attacks in Pakistan.

“Statistics show that if you look at our data 500 days before the fall of Kabul, and then compare it with our data 500 days later, you can see that there has been a clear increase,” he said, adding that weapons left in Afghanistan by US and NATO forces had fallen into the hands of militants.