Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday accused Afghanistan of neglecting its duties as a neighbor and disregarding crucial obligations outlined in the Doha peace agreement.
He made these remarks in a tweet which followed a statement of Chief of Army Staff Gen Asim Munir who, the other day, voiced serious concerns over safe havens of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) within Afghanistan.
In a tweet, Defence Minister Asif criticized Afghanistan for failing to uphold its commitments under the Doha agreement, emphasizing that the country was neither acting as a responsible neighbor nor safeguarding the peace agreement.
Asif highlighted Pakistan’s long-standing support for Afghan refugees, providing refuge to an estimated five to six million individuals for several decades, while terrorists who targeted Pakistani citizens took shelter on Afghan soil.
The defence minister warned that the current situation could no longer persist and vowed that Pakistan would utilize all available resources, guided by divine support, to protect its territory and citizens.
In a separate tweet, Asif called out individuals who advocated for bringing the TTP from Afghanistan to Pakistan during the PTI government and urged them to understand the suffering of families who lost their loved ones to terrorist attacks on a daily basis.
He held those individuals accountable for the destruction inflicted upon the country in recent years.
Pakistan has experienced a surge in terrorist activities, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, following the ceasefire between the government and the banned TTP in November of the previous year.
During a weekly news briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch emphasized the importance of Afghan authorities fulfilling their commitments to prevent their territory from being exploited for terrorist activities against Pakistan.
Baloch underscored that it was the responsibility of Afghan authorities to ensure their land was not used for hostile actions against Pakistan and noted that Afghan authorities had acknowledged this responsibility on multiple occasions.
