Afghanistan Peace Campaign
Taliban chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has accused Pakistan of seeking to destabilise Afghanistan in coordination with major powers, including the United States, as relations between the two sides remain strained despite multiple rounds of talks.
Mujahid said some elements within Pakistan’s military were acting at the behest of Washington to undermine security in Afghanistan and the wider region.
“Certain military circles in Pakistan, in cooperation with and at the request of major powers, are trying to destabilise Afghanistan,” Mujahid told an interview streamed on YouTube.
He linked the allegation to renewed US statements about Afghanistan’s former Bagram air base, adding: “When the United States raises the issue of Bagram, the question of Pakistan’s role in destabilising Afghanistan also arises. This can be pursued in a coordinated manner between the US and some military circles in Pakistan.”
Mujahid said the Taliban administration was not dependent on any foreign power and warned Islamabad against seeking influence over Kabul. “The Islamic Emirate is not reliant on any country, and Pakistan should not harbour dreams of dominance over Afghanistan,” he said. He again denied the presence of militant groups operating from Afghanistan’s territory.
Pakistan has repeatedly rejected such accusations and says militant groups, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), operate from Afghanistan’s territory.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesman Tahir Andarabi said in recent remarks that Afghanistan’s territory was being “widely used” by militant groups to carry out attacks inside Pakistan, and called on the Taliban to provide formal guarantees.
“Our demand from Afghanistan is clear: do not allow terrorists to operate against Pakistan from your soil,” Andarabi said. “These militants are not Pakistani citizens; more than 70% of them are Afghan nationals. We now expect a written commitment to ensure Afghan soil is not used against us.”
The Taliban have consistently denied supporting the TTP, saying security incidents in Pakistan are an internal matter for Islamabad.
Tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan have intensified over the past three months, with border closures, rising rhetoric and Pakistani air strikes on Afghanistan’s border provinces. Pakistani forces also carried out strikes that, for the first time, reached areas in Kabul and Kandahar.
At least four rounds of talks between Taliban and Pakistani delegations, held in Doha, Istanbul and Riyadh, have failed to produce a breakthrough, leaving relations between the two sides at one of their lowest points since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021.