Taliban helping Lashkar and Jaish terrorists : Afghan President

Kabul – Afghan President Ashraf Ghani warned, ‘The Taliban has denied any links to Al-Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed. At the same time, the Taliban is trying to brighten its image. But the Taliban’s cooperation with terrorists continues even today. The Taliban plans to turn Afghanistan into a terrorist haven. But our government will never allow this to happen’. Afghanistan is strategically critical, which is why President Ghani has accused that the enemies are waging war in retaliation. Although not directly named, the Afghan president appears to have made the criticism aimed at Pakistan.

The Afghan government and security agencies have previously accused Pakistan of being responsible for the instability in Afghanistan. But since the beginning of the US military withdrawal, the Taliban’s attacks in Afghanistan have intensified. The Pakistani military and terrorist organisations are providing support for Taliban attacks on the Afghan army. It was revealed that Jaish and Lashkar militants from Pakistan had set up camps in the Paktika, Helmand and Kandahar provinces of Afghanistan. This confession was made by a Pakistani military official who was captured by the Afghan army.

Afghan President Ghani also accused that 10,000 militants had entered Afghanistan from Pakistan, in the presence of Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, at a meeting in Tashkent last week. Pakistan’s prime minister was shocked by the Afghan president’s allegations. Prime Minister Imran Khan had failed to refute President Ghani’s allegations. Speaking at an Afghan army event on Wednesday, President Ghani criticised the terrorist organisation in Pakistan and its cooperation with the Taliban without directly mentioning it.

Stating that Afghanistan will never allow the plan of turning the Afghan land into a haven for terrorists to succeed, President Ghani promised to provide all necessary assistance to the Afghan army. Ghani announced, ‘Our main goal will be to safeguard Afghanistan’s independence, equality and the achievements it has made over the past 20 years.’

In a speech to the Afghan people two days ago, President Ghani called on Pakistan to respond. The Afghan president asked the question, ‘Will Pakistan allow Taliban rule even for one day? If no, then why is Pakistan trying to impose Taliban on Afghans?’

Meanwhile, in the last 24 hours, there have been reports of violence and destruction by the Taliban in Afghanistan. The Taliban have demolished statues erected in a children’s park in Badakhshan province. Photographs of it have been surfaced. In Balkh province, Afghan officials say the Taliban are extorting money from the public.