Pakistan rejects Afghan Taliban claim of strikes on militant hideouts

ISLAMABAD: The information ministry on Friday rejected claims by the Afghan Taliban that their ‘air force’ targeted Islamic State (IS) hideouts inside Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, calling the statements “false and baseless.”

In a statement on social media platform X, the ministry said that the Afghan Taliban’s assertions regarding operations against IS hideouts inside Pakistan were incorrect.

The statement comes after the Afghan Taliban’s defence ministry claimed on Friday that its “air force” targeted militant hideouts in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Thursday night.

The Afghan ministry, in a post on X, did not specify how the attack was carried out, as it has no fighter jets.

Afghanistan is known to possess at least six aircraft and 23 helicopters, according to data from the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

Pakistan said that Islamic State and other militant groups were operating from areas under Taliban control in Afghanistan, and accused the Afghan authorities of providing support or sanctuary to such groups.

The information ministry further said the Taliban government issued misleading statements to deflect attention from its alleged patronage of militant networks.

“The claims are false, as usual, and terrorist camps, including those of Daesh and more than two dozen other terrorist organisations, are located, run and patronised from areas under the control of the Afghan Taliban authorities,” Pakistan said..

It said the Afghan authorities routinely issue such statements to cover what it described as the patronisation of terrorism directed against neighbouring countries and the wider region, including by Daesh and other groups.

Earlier, the Afghan defence ministry said that “the targeted bases, allegedly used in cooperation with certain hostile intelligence circles to plan and organise attacks against Afghanistan, had previously served as staging grounds for several deadly attacks.”

“According to preliminary information, the operation successfully hit its key pre-designated targets,” it added, without giving details about casualties.

The conflict between allies-turned-foes Pakistan and Afghanistan has killed hundreds of people this year, with efforts to ease tensions, mediated by China, yielding no results so far.

Islamabad blames Kabul for harbouring militants that it says plot attacks in Pakistan, but the Afghan Taliban deny the allegations and say militancy is Pakistan’s internal problem.

Pakistan launched air strikes on Afghan provinces last week. Islamabad said the “calibrated strikes” killed 26 militants and were a response to a recent spate of attacks in the country’s northwest.

“Afghanistan will no longer tolerate any threat to its security and stability. It will use all available means and capabilities to neutralize and eliminate any threat at its source,” the Afghan Taliban defence ministry said.