Afghanistan Peace Campaign
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Washington has heard Pakistan’s concerns about militant attacks it says originate in Afghanistan and is open to helping ease tensions between the neighbours.
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, October 31, on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Atlanta, Rubio said Pakistan believed the Taliban authorities had not done enough to prevent attacks launched from Afghan territory.
“Pakistan is concerned about terrorist attacks that are being sponsored from the territory of Afghanistan,” Rubio said. “They feel as if the Taliban has not done enough to constrain those attacks, and they’ve taken action against it.”
Rubio said Washington did not want Pakistan to be targeted by terrorism and would consider playing a constructive role if an opportunity arose.
“We obviously have heard those concerns on their part. We obviously don’t want them to be targeted for terrorism. So if there’s a productive role for us to play, we would play it,” he said.
However, Rubio stressed that Washington did not have close relations with the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan. He added that the United States opposed terrorism regardless of where it originated or whom it targeted.
“We’ve heard the concerns that Pakistan has raised, and we’ve seen some of those attacks that they point to,” Rubio said. “We’re against terrorism no matter where it emanates from and who it targets.”
The remarks were made as relations between Pakistan and the Taliban administration remain strained over Islamabad’s allegations that armed groups, particularly the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), operate from Afghanistan territory and carry out attacks inside Pakistan.
Pakistan has repeatedly called on the Taliban authorities to take action against militant groups it says use Afghanistan as a base for cross-border attacks. Islamabad has also raised the issue in regional diplomatic forums, including the Moscow Format talks.
The Taliban administration has rejected Pakistan’s accusations that it allows Afghanistan territory to be used for attacks against neighbouring countries. It has described Pakistan’s security problems as an internal matter and denied responsibility for the violence.
Rubio’s comments followed renewed diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions. Russia has offered to facilitate dialogue between Islamabad and Kabul, while previous mediation efforts involving Qatar, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and China have failed to produce a lasting agreement.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said in October that it remained open to meaningful talks but wanted a verifiable mechanism to ensure that attacks against Pakistan would not originate from Afghanistan territory.