The United States on Tuesday asked the Afghan Taliban to prevent their country from becoming a “safe haven” for terrorist attacks.
Speaking on behalf of the US State Department, Matthew Miller said that “safe havens and liberty of action” provided by Kabul, along with the most recent weapons available to militants from Afghanistan, allowed them to conduct attacks inside Pakistan. A day earlier, the Pakistani Army had blamed Kabul for the rise in militancy.
Islamabad has repeatedly raised concerns over the use of Afghan soil by militants for cross-border terrorism. In a recent statement, the military said it expected the government in Afghanistan to take action against militants and abide by the Doha agreement.
“So I don’t have any comment specifically on that, but I will say we have made very clear that we believe the Taliban has the responsibility to prevent Afghanistan from being used as a safe haven for launching terrorist attacks,” Miller replied.
Earlier, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif rebuked Afghanistan for disregarding vital obligations made in the Doha peace agreement, specifically its commitment to prevent the use of Afghan soil for terrorist activities.
Pakistan has witnessed an increase in terrorist activities, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, following the termination of the ceasefire between the government and the banned TTP in November of the previous year.
