Pakistan demands verifiable Taliban action against TTP, rejects 'diversionary' claims

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Saturday it had taken note of recent statements by the Afghan Taliban government and rejected what it called diversionary allegations, demanding verifiable action against militant groups it says use Afghan territory against Pakistan.

In a statement posted on X, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said blaming Pakistan's security institutions would not absolve Kabul of its responsibility to stop Afghan soil being used for terrorism. "Pakistan's concerns are not based on conjecture," the ministry said.

It cited the UN Security Council's Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team's sixteenth report (S/2025/796) and the US Lead Inspector General's Operation Enduring Sentinel report to Congress for January to March 2026. According to the ministry, the US report said the Afghan Taliban continued to allow the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to operate from Afghan territory, and that Taliban support and greater freedom for the group had contributed to increased attacks against Pakistan.

The ministry said that report estimated TTP strength at 4,000 to 6,000 fighters, and that the assessments underscored the seriousness of Pakistani concerns about sanctuaries and support networks on Afghan soil.

It said Kabul's assertion that Afghanistan lacks either the capacity or the interest to destabilise Pakistan did not address those documented concerns. Repeated attempts by armed terrorists to infiltrate across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the killing of Afghan nationals and members of militant groups during Pakistani counter-terrorism operations, and the recovery of foreign-origin weapons from militants all warranted serious scrutiny, it said.

Pakistan has also raised concerns about alleged facilitation of militant groups by Afghan Taliban officials, including officials in Kandahar. "Such concerns cannot be dismissed through blanket denials; they require credible explanations and verifiable action," the ministry said.

The statement said Pakistan's security measures were directed against terrorist threats and not the Afghan people, and it called on the Taliban government to end any tolerance, facilitation or support for organisations including the TTP, the Balochistan Liberation Army and their affiliates, and to ensure Afghan territory is not used to plan, prepare or launch attacks on Pakistan.

Pakistan would continue to take all necessary measures to protect its citizens, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and remained open to responsible engagement based on mutual respect, verifiable commitments and concrete action, the ministry said. Peace in the region, it added, could prevail only if the Taliban government verifiably addressed Pakistan's core concern.

Arab News reported the statement as a warning of further action if Afghan soil continues to be used for militancy. Geo News noted that Pakistan has seen a sharp rise in cross-border militant attacks, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, and that September 2026 recorded the highest monthly number of attacks in 12 years.

Separately, the ministry's Fact Check account on X rejected as baseless allegations by Zalmay Khalilzad that Pakistan was arming former Afghans to fight the Taliban and groups it supports. It said it was misleading to conflate Pakistan's counter-terrorism operations with claims that it recruits Afghan nationals or sponsors armed groups inside Afghanistan.