Afghan Taliban’s Nuristan allegations ‘baseless and fabricated’: Information Ministry

ISLAMABAD, September 27 — The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has rejected allegations by the Afghan Taliban authorities linking Pakistani security forces and intelligence agencies to reported violence in Afghanistan’s Nuristan province, calling the claims “frivolous, baseless” and devoid of evidence.
In a fact-check issued on Saturday, the ministry categorically denied any involvement of Pakistani security forces or intelligence agencies in internal clashes in Nuristan or elsewhere in Afghanistan.
It also rejected claims that Pakistan was recruiting or training former Afghan security personnel or facilitating Daesh or any other terrorist organisation operating inside Afghanistan.
The ministry said the Afghan Taliban authorities had failed to produce evidence to substantiate the allegations, including identities, documents, communications, forensic material or independent verification.
Responding to a video being circulated on social media as purported evidence, the ministry said the footage showed only a few unarmed individuals who were neither properly dressed nor equipped. It alleged that the footage appeared to be part of a pre-planned attempt to support what Islamabad described as fabricated claims.
The ministry maintained that the presence and activities of terrorist organisations inside Afghanistan had been documented in successive reports by the United Nations and other international organisations.
It said attempts to establish a Pakistani connection could not obscure Islamabad’s position that militant groups continue to find sanctuary and an enabling environment inside Afghanistan.
The statement described it as ironic that the Afghan Taliban authorities were accusing Pakistan of supporting terrorism while, according to Islamabad, terrorist organisations operating from Afghan soil continued to pose a direct threat to Pakistan and regional security.
The ministry urged the Afghan Taliban authorities to focus on their internal security challenges and take “credible and verifiable” action against terrorist organisations operating from Afghan territory.
It also called on Kabul to fulfil its commitments that Afghan soil would not be used for terrorism against Pakistan or any other country.
The statement further accused the Afghan Taliban authorities of using allegations against Pakistan to deflect attention from internal dissent and issues involving women, children and minorities.
Pakistan has repeatedly raised concerns over militant groups operating from Afghan territory. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, while addressing an OIC Contact Group meeting on Afghanistan in New York on September 23, also called for concrete and verifiable action to prevent Afghan soil from being used for terrorism against neighbouring countries.
Islamabad has maintained that stability in Afghanistan is important for regional peace while pressing the Afghan authorities to act against militant groups it says threaten Pakistan from across the border.