Kabul/Islamabad – Pakistan has strongly rebutted recent remarks by Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Afghan Taliban’s interim Interior Minister, describing his speech at a ceremony in Kabul’s Firefighting Directorate as a deliberate attempt to deflect blame for Pakistan’s internal security challenges and deny Afghanistan’s responsibility for harboring militant groups, particularly the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
In his October 30 address, Haqqani portrayed Afghanistan as a nation ravaged by decades of war, foreign intervention, and external exploitation, asserting that Afghans have endured immense loss, displacement, and suffering due to the ambitions of outside powers. He claimed Afghans were not aggressors by nature but had been divided by survival pressures and manipulation by foreign actors seeking to fragment the country.
Haqqani maintained that despite invasions by the Soviet Union, the United States, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Afghans preserved their independence through unity, negotiations, and battlefield resilience. Referring to the Doha Agreement, he said the accord and subsequent commitments led by figures such as Mullah Baradar were designed to ensure that Afghanistan would never again threaten others.
Highlighting the Taliban’s domestic governance approach, Haqqani said the Islamic Emirate pursued unity, declared amnesty, and sought to heal long-standing divisions through consensus and reform over the past four and a half years. While acknowledging Pakistan as an “Islamic neighbor” that supported the Afghan jihad against the Soviet Union, he accused Islamabad of externalizing its internal issues, particularly the TTP problem, onto Afghanistan.
Haqqani argued that recent tensions between the two neighbors stemmed from Pakistan’s “grave mistake” of blaming Afghanistan for its own domestic insecurities.
“They are taking their own problem and attributing it to Afghanistan, taking revenge on Afghanistan,” he said. “Because of this problem that they have externalized toward Afghanistan, they are creating turmoil here; behind it lie other motives, other hostilities, and other agendas.” Warning that such actions would backfire, he cautioned: “This mistake will ultimately rebound upon them, and it will come at a very high cost.”
Haqqani further claimed that Pakistan’s authorities were holding Afghanistan responsible for problems they themselves created, adding: “If anyone says that we have created those against them, that is a grave misunderstanding.”
Referring to post-2001 developments, Haqqani blamed “wrong decisions” by rulers of that period for regional instability. “They created problems in Islamic countries that stoked disputes between tribes and regions, and those are the things we suffer from today,” he stated.
He emphasized that Kabul had repeatedly conveyed to Islamabad, through multiple channels, that the TTP issue was an internal Pakistani problem.
“We have repeatedly told the Pakistani government, through various meetings and channels, that this is your internal problem, resolve it within your own country. Why impose it upon us? Why force others into confrontation?”
Despite the critical tone, Haqqani reiterated Afghanistan’s commitment to preventing its territory from being used against any country, maintaining readiness for dialogue and patience over confrontation. He emphasized that the Islamic Emirate would defend its sovereignty if attacked but preferred to resolve tensions through diplomacy, including through the Doha and Turkey channels.
Reality Tells a Different Story: Pakistan Pushes Back Against Haqqani’s Claims
Responding to Haqqani’s remarks, policy analysts described his speech as a “reactionary narrative” shaped by recent developments, notably the neutralization of TTP’s shadow defense minister and second-in-command, Qari Muzahim, who had infiltrated Pakistan from Afghan soil.
The timing of Haqqani’s address, coinciding with the fifth round of Istanbul peace talks on October 25, was viewed by Islamabad as “strategic and defensive.” Officials said the speech appeared designed to divert attention from Afghanistan’s failure to curb the TTP’s cross-border operations and to reframe the issue as Pakistan’s domestic problem.
Pakistan has consistently maintained that it respects Afghanistan’s sovereignty but cannot ignore the cross-border sanctuaries and operational freedom enjoyed by TTP militants within Afghanistan. Islamabad’s position, grounded in international law and bilateral assurances, is that Kabul must take verifiable action against terrorist groups using Afghan soil to target Pakistan.
“The Taliban regime’s denial of responsibility is inconsistent with verifiable evidence of TTP leadership presence and activities inside Afghanistan,” a senior security official said.
“Pakistan has exercised restraint and continues to prefer dialogue, yet patience must not be mistaken for weakness.”
Observers underscored that regional stability demands practical action, not rhetorical deflection, reiterating that both countries share faith and geography, but trust can only endure when commitments are honored.
“Pakistan remains open to cooperation for peace,” the statement added, “but its security concerns are non-negotiable.”
As Islamabad continues engagement under the Istanbul framework, mediated by Türkiye and Qatar, officials reaffirmed that Pakistan’s focus remains on verifiable counterterror measures, not blame games, emphasising that enduring peace depends on Kabul’s willingness to act decisively against groups threatening regional security.
