Zahra Baloch: Terrorist groups in Afghanistan pose serious threat to region

The spokesperson for Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, stated that terrorist groups have found safe havens in Afghanistan and are launching attacks on Pakistan from there.

She expressed hope that the Taliban would view these groups as a serious threat not only to others but also to their own security.

Baloch urged the Taliban to fulfill their commitments under the Doha Agreement and take action against these terrorist groups in Afghanistan. Without naming specific groups, she called for concrete steps to prevent their activities.

During a press briefing on Thursday, Zahra Baloch highlighted that international concerns about the security situation in Afghanistan have been repeatedly raised in UN reports and during meetings with regional countries.

She reiterated the need for the Taliban to see these terrorist groups as threats to Afghanistan’s own security, as well as to the broader region, and to honor their commitments under international agreements, including the Doha Agreement.

Baloch also disclosed that Islamabad has shared its concerns with Washington about the large cache of weapons obtained by terrorist groups in Afghanistan, which are now being used against Pakistan. Both Pakistan and the U.S. are working together to push the Taliban to honor their counter-terrorism commitments.

She reaffirmed Pakistan’s stance that terrorist groups continue to operate from Afghan soil, conducting attacks inside Pakistan. “We believe terrorism is not only a threat to Afghanistan but also to its neighboring countries, including Pakistan, and to the world as a whole,” she said.

Over the past three years, attacks by the Pakistani Taliban on Pakistan’s security forces have intensified. Analysts suggest that the Pakistani militants are allies of the Afghan Taliban, who are reluctant to expel them from Afghanistan.

The Taliban, responding to regional concerns, have claimed they do not allow any group to attack neighboring countries from Afghan soil. However, Pakistan insists that the leadership and a significant number of Pakistani Taliban militants are present in Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s expectations of the Taliban curbing the activities of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) have not materialized in the three years since the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan. Instead, Pakistan claims the Taliban have allowed the TTP to establish safe havens in border regions.

Earlier, Pakistan shared “conclusive evidence” of the TTP’s presence with China’s special envoy on Afghanistan during his visit to Islamabad. Pakistan’s approach to Afghanistan is now being handled by its deputy foreign minister for West Asia and Afghanistan, following the removal of its special envoy for Afghanistan, Asif Ali Durrani.

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