Pakistan rejects Afghan Taliban claims of weapons smuggled into Afghanistan as 'frivolous, baseless'

Published Updated
0
An army soldier stands guard at a deserted entry point at the Friendship Gate, following the exchanges of fire between Pakistan and Afghanistan forces, at the border crossing between the two countries, in Chaman, on February 27, 2026. — Reuters/File
An army soldier stands guard at a deserted entry point at the Friendship Gate, following the exchanges of fire between Pakistan and Afghanistan forces, at the border crossing between the two countries, in Chaman, on February 27, 2026. — Reuters/File

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Sunday rubbished claims made by the Afghan Taliban about weapons allegedly smuggled from Pakistan into Afghanistan as “frivolous” and “baseless”.

In a statement shared on X, the ministry said, “The Afghan Taliban regime’s claim that weapons are being smuggled from Pakistan into Afghanistan for so-called ‘subversive activities’ is frivolous, baseless and contrary to established facts.”

It noted that Afghanistan was already awash with “enormous quantities of sophisticated weapons and military equipment abandoned after the withdrawal of US and coalition forces (worth an estimated $7.2 billion), in addition to large stocks of Soviet-era weaponry accumulated over decades of conflict”.

“Attempts to manufacture a Pakistani connection to such weapons seem designed to divert international attention from the far more serious and documented concern[s]: terrorist groups continue to find space, facilitation and operational freedom on Afghan soil to plan, support and execute attacks inside Pakistan,” the ministry stated.

It added that rather than resorting to “implausible accusations and blame-shifting”, the Afghan Taliban must address the “presence of terrorist sanctuaries on their territory and fulfil their repeated commitments that Afghan soil will not be allowed to be used for terrorism against Pakistan or any other country”.

Pakistan has been continuously pushing the Afghan Taliban regime to rein in the terrorist hideouts in Afghanistan and prevent the violent groups from carrying out terror activities against Pakistan from its soil. Officials say those appeals have gone unheeded.

Last month, following multiple major attacks in Balochistan, Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir had asserted that terrorism originating from across the border would be crushed with the “full might of the state”.

In November 2025, Pakistan warned at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) that the acquisition of abandoned weapons by terrorist groups based in Afghanistan not only threatens peace and security in Pakistan but also in the region.

In April that year, an investigation by The Washington Post revealed that terrorists who attacked the Jaffar Express train in Balochistan used weapons left behind when United States forces withdrew from Afghanistan.

Opinion

Editorial

Equal citizens
Updated 11 Aug, 2026

Equal citizens

Religious minorities continue to face mob violence, attacks on their places of worship, forced conversions and social and economic exclusion.
Tel Aviv’s subterfuge
Updated 11 Aug, 2026

Tel Aviv’s subterfuge

These verbal gymnastics indicate that Tel Aviv has no intention of ending its occupation of the Strip.
Abandoned after floods
11 Aug, 2026

Abandoned after floods

THREE years after the 2022 floods submerged a third of Pakistan, more than 134,000 verified affected families in...
Genuine governance
Updated 10 Aug, 2026

Genuine governance

ON the surface, the Punjab cabinet’s decision to allocate funds for local government elections is a welcome step...
Failed by the state
10 Aug, 2026

Failed by the state

THE 1,914 cases of child abuse across Pakistan in the first six months of 2026 should spark outrage. The figure ...
HIV crisis
10 Aug, 2026

HIV crisis

PAKISTAN’s presence among countries with the fastest-growing HIV epidemic in Asia is a matter of shame. Globally,...