Pakistan PM calls on Kabul to ‘rein in' militant groups launching cross-border attacks
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday called on the Taliban authorities in Kabul to prevent militant groups from using Afghan soil to launch attacks against Pakistan, warning such militant violence threatened regional stability and would not be tolerated.
Speaking to reporters in London after concluding a two-day official visit to Belarus, Sharif reiterated Pakistan had repeatedly urged the Afghan interim government to uphold its commitments under the 2020 Doha Agreement, which called for preventing armed groups from operating on Afghan territory.
'We have always said Afghanistan is a neighboring and brotherly country,' his office quoted him as saying in a statement after the media interaction. 'As neighbors, we have to live together — the choice is whether to do so peacefully or through conflict.'
Sharif said Pakistan had sent several messages to Kabul, emphasizing that Afghan soil must not be used for militancy under any circumstances.
'But unfortunately, the TTP [Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan], ISKP [Islamic State Khorasan Province] and other terrorist outfits continue to operate from there and have martyred innocent Pakistani civilians,' he added.
The prime minister vowed the sacrifices made by Pakistan's civilians and armed forces would not go in vain, adding that the Afghan authorities should take immediate action against militant groups.
'My sincere advice to Afghanistan is to rein in these terrorist organizations at once and not allow them to use Afghan land under any circumstances,' he said.
Tensions between Islamabad and Kabul have risen in recent years following a surge in militant attacks in Pakistan's western provinces bordering Afghanistan.
Islamabad blames the TTP, a banned outfit ideologically aligned with the Afghan Taliban, for orchestrating cross-border violence from safe havens inside Afghanistan — a charge the Taliban administration has repeatedly denied.
Amid the bitterness between the two countries, Pakistan has deported hundreds of thousands of undocumented Afghan nationals since late 2023, citing security concerns while prompting criticism from rights groups and calls for dialogue from Kabul.
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