Taliban Regime Will Pay a Heavy Price if It Fails to Act Against Terrorism, Warns Pakistan

Islamabad: Pakistan’s Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has warned that the Afghan Taliban regime will have to pay a heavy price if it does not heed Pakistan’s concerns regarding terrorism.

In an interview with the British news agency Reuters, the DG ISPR described the Afghan Taliban regime as a proxy of India, stating that Afghanistan continues to be run by non-state actors and remains a regime rather than a functioning state.

He said that the terrorist organisations Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) were also Indian proxies operating against Pakistan, adding that India is the largest sponsor of terrorism in Pakistan.

Lieutenant General Chaudhry further stated that the Afghan Taliban use non-state actors and mercenary fighters to pursue their nefarious objectives.

He noted that numerous agencies and proxies had entrenched themselves in Afghanistan following the Soviet intervention, and that international terrorist organisations such as Jaish al-Adl, Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) also maintain a presence in the country. He pointed out that this had been highlighted by the United Nations, the United States and several other countries.

The military spokesperson said Pakistan’s only demand of the Afghan Taliban is that they stop supporting terrorists operating inside Pakistan. He alleged that the Taliban regime is sheltering terrorist leaders including Noor Wali, Bashir Zeb and Gul Bahadur.

According to the DG ISPR, terrorist groups carrying out attacks in Pakistan are dispatched from Afghanistan, where they are also supplied with weapons. He reiterated that if the Taliban regime fails to address Pakistan’s concerns on terrorism, it will face serious consequences.

Lieutenant General Chaudhry said the Afghan Taliban regime lacks credibility at the international level, and called on the world to compel it to behave like a normal state. He also urged the international community to press the Taliban to halt the cultivation and production of narcotics.

The DG ISPR affirmed that Pakistan’s armed forces possess the full capability to counter all threats emanating from the Afghan regime, including drones.