‘Pakistani Soil Has Been Used Against Us’: Afghan Defense Ministry

The Ministry of Defense of Afghanistan said that recent remarks by the spokesperson of the Pakistani army, claiming that the soil of Afghanistan is being used by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) against Islamabad, are far from reality.

Enayatullah Khwarazmi, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense, also said that occasionally the soil of Pakistan is used against Afghanistan, and ISIS elements enter Afghanistan from there.

According to the spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense, the area where Chinese citizens were targeted in an explosion is under intense security coverage by Pakistan’s army.

Khwarazmi added: “We have cases where ISIS extremists have entered Afghanistan from Pakistan and are using Pakistani soil against our land. Pakistan must answer for this.”

Earlier, Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, the spokesperson of Pakistan’s army, said that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan operates from the soil of Afghanistan against Pakistan.  “Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, using the soil of Afghanistan, operates in Pakistan,” he said.

Ishaq Dar, the deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Pakistan, also claimed at a press conference that the attack on Chinese citizens in Pakistan was planned from Afghanistan.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan said: “Our reports show that the mastermind behind the recent attack on Chinese citizens and its initiation, supervision, and planning was unfortunately all done by an Afghan.”

“Governments have never been able to resolve the issue with Pakistan because they continue the enmity of the British with us,” said Yousuf Amin Zazai, a military analyst.

“Pakistan wants to portray Afghanistan as a terrorist haven to the world; they have misused this for their benefit in the past as well,” said Moeen Gul Samkanai, a political analyst.

Pakistan’s special envoy for Afghanistan, Asif Ali Durrani, has again claimed that India, using its proxies in Afghanistan, financially supports the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan; claims that are always denied by Kabul.