Govt castigates KP CM for saying state should give evidence of Kabul’s soil being used against Pakistan

The government on Monday took strong exception to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi saying the state should provide evidence of Kabul’s soil being used against Pakistan.

In a media interaction at the home of PTI leader Alamgir Khan on Sunday night, Afridi said that the state should give evidence for the claim that Afghanistan’s soil was being used for terrorism in Pakistan. He said that other countries also shared a border with Afghanistan but they did not have the same complaints.

The clip was also shared by state broadcaster PTV on the social media platform X.

In a post on X, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said that Afridi was speaking as Afghanistan’s “spokesperson“ which was highly “condemnable and shameful”.

“The whole world has seen evidence of the Afghan Taliban regime’s support for terrorists, and there is also irrefutable evidence that Afghanistan’s soil is being used for terrorist activities,” Tarar said.

“Sohail Afridi has reached the peak of lies and hypocrisy. The Pakistani nation has made immense sacrifices while fighting terrorists,“ he said. He added that whenever the party opened its mouth, they always facilitated terrorists.

“Pakistan’s development is unacceptable to Fitna al Khawarij which is why Pakistan is targeted,” he said. The minister concluded that Afridi needed to “come to his senses”.

Speaking to the media in Islamabad, Minister of State for Interior Affairs Tallal Chaudhry said that it had been the PTI’s “consistent policy” to create “uncertainty” on national issues, adding that they also refrained from calling perpetrators of terrorism terrorists.

“They are always reluctant to call terrorists terrorists and say things that spread doubt amongst the common man,“ he said.

He also held neighbouring countries responsible for terrorism, saying that one was “investing” while the second was “implementing”.

He took strong exception to Afridi’s remarks, saying: “The KP CM, once again, said in Karachi that we should provide the Afghan government with evidence of terrorist activities.

“Do you still not know who’s behind terrorism?“ he asked. He said that at least two dozen countries had pointed out that Afghanistan’s soil was being used for terrorism.

“They intentionally spread doubt. They do not want military operations. They do not want to expel illegal Afghans and want to negotiate instead of taking action,“ he said.

“There must be a reason for this soft attitude,” Tallal said. “They have something in common, and I’ll say it on record: there has not been even a single attack on any PTI leader, worker, adviser, minister in the past 11 years,“ he alleged, criticising the party for ”spreading doubt“.

“You create ambiguity in the minds of common people, so the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and other groups may operate in KP and also get the sympathies of the common man,” the state minister added.

Speaking about the PTI’s street movement, the state minister questioned whether party leaders had taken the time to meet with the families of martyrs.

“You stand against the national narrative because you are a beneficiary,” Tallal said.

Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Tariq Fazal termed Afridi’s remarks “upsetting” and stated that KP witnessed the most terrorist incidents in the country.

“As far as proof is concerned … when we had dialogue with them (Afghan Taliban) in Doha and Istanbul, Afghanistan did not deny that their soil is being used for cross-border terrorism, but they denied that they have control over it,” he said in a video statement posted to X.

“Our demand was for them to take control of the situation.”

The minister questioned whether the KP CM was acknowledging the sacrifices of security forces and civilians and noted that major terrorist attacks, including the bombing outside an Islamabad district court, were linked to Afghanistan.

“If you mistakenly became the chief minister of a province facing such challenges, then please stop giving such upsetting and shameful statements,” Chaudhry said.

“Your statement today is like rubbing salt in the wounds of the families of martyrs and slain civilians,” he added.

The minister then noted that Pakistan had provided evidence and footage on the international stage, which showed terrorists crossing over from Afghanistan.

“Pakistan remains a friendly nation to Afghanistan, but no country forms relations based on internal security,” he said. “We have served the Afghans for 40 years, housing 4 million Afghan refugees as our guests and brothers. There is still a large number of them here.”

“However, Pakistan’s security and the safety of the people are our responsibility and we will fulfil it in any circumstance. Afghanistan also wants the Afghan Taliban regime to ensure that no terrorist group can use its soil to attack Pakistan in these cowardly acts,” Chaudhry added.

“If they continue to attack, we will deal with them and send a message to Afghanistan telling them to stop engaging in this game.”