US warns Afghan Taliban of failure to contain militants from attacking Pakistan

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD (AA) – The US has urged the Afghan Taliban to prevent Afghanistan's soil from being used as a "safe haven" for terrorist attacks.

This was said by State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller during a press briefing on Monday in response to a question about Pakistan's armed forces' recent warnings to Afghanistan, urging the Afghan Taliban to take action against terrorists carrying out attacks inside Pakistan.

Miller said it is the interim Taliban administration's responsibility to prevent terrorists from using its territory for terrorism, according to a transcript of the press conference posted on the Department of State website.

"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," he said.

His remarks came just hours after the Pakistan Army warned the Afghan Taliban about providing safe havens to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the umbrella terrorist organization for several militant groups.

The TTP militants’ safe havens and sophisticated weapons pose a security risk to the country, the army said in a statement issued following a meeting of top commanders in Rawalpindi.

"The sanctuaries and liberty of action available to the terrorists of proscribed TTP and other groups of that ilk in a neighboring country and availability of latest weapons to the terrorists were noted as major reasons impacting the security of Pakistan," it said.

Earlier on Friday, Pakistan's Army chief claimed that TTP militants have freedom of action across the border in Afghanistan and urged Kabul not to allow its soil to be used against any country.

"The Armed Forces of Pakistan have serious concerns about the safe havens and liberty of action available to the TTP in Afghanistan," Gen. Syed Asim Munir said during his visit to the southwestern Balochistan province following recent attacks in which a dozen soldiers were killed.

On Wednesday, 12 Pakistani soldiers and seven militants were killed in two attacks and subsequent operations in the Zhob and Sui areas of Balochistan.

Over the weekend, Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif also accused Afghanistan of not fulfilling its obligations as a neighbor.

Asif said Kabul is not abiding by the commitments made in the 2020 Doha agreement.

"Five to six million Afghans are living from past 40 to 50 years with all rights (in Pakistan) while on the other side, those terrorists who shed the blood of Pakistanis can find refuge on Afghan soil," he said in a tweet.

"This situation cannot continue any longer. Pakistan will use all its resources to protect its land and citizens," he added.

Suhail Shaheen, a senior leader of the Afghan Taliban and head of its political office in Qatar, last week tweeted: "We are committed not to allowing anyone to use the soil of Afghanistan against any country, including neighboring countries, but as regards internal security of a country, it is their responsibility.”​​​​​​​