On Sunday, Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif firmly rebutted what he called “baseless allegations” made by Acting Afghanistan Deputy Foreign Minister Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, who claimed that Pakistan is arming and training Daesh militants.
Stanikzai had earlier asserted that Daesh operates training centers within Pakistan, where militants are prepared for insurgent activities aimed at Afghanistan.
In reaction, Asif took to X (formerly Twitter), asserting, “Pakistan categorically rejects these baseless, fabricated allegations by Acting Afghanistan DFM Stanikzai, which seem to be an attempt to shift blame.” He highlighted that Afghanistan remains a significant center for the recruitment and facilitation of the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) in 2024.
The Defense Minister urged the interim Afghan authorities to uphold their commitments to the international community by dismantling terrorist networks and implementing clear, verifiable measures to prevent the use of Afghan territory against others.
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Asif remarked, “The interim Afghan authorities are well advised to act on their assurances to the international community by dismantling terrorist infrastructure and taking visible and verifiable actions to prevent Afghan soil from being exploited against other countries.”
Pakistan has consistently accused Afghanistan of sheltering militant factions that perpetrate cross-border assaults. Recently, Pakistani forces conducted airstrikes in eastern Afghanistan, targeting militant hideouts.
The Afghan defense ministry condemned these airstrikes, labeling them as “clear aggression.” They declared, “The Islamic Emirate will not leave this cowardly act unanswered. We consider the defense of our territory and sovereignty to be an inalienable right,” referring to the Taliban’s governance.
In retaliation, Afghan Taliban fighters targeted “several points” within Pakistan shortly after the airstrikes. The Afghan defense ministry’s statement didn’t explicitly name Pakistan but mentioned strikes conducted “beyond the ‘hypothetical line’” — a term used to refer to the border with Pakistan.
For decades, Afghanistan has contested the Durand Line, a boundary established by British colonial authorities in the 19th century, which runs through a volatile and often lawless tribal region between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
