Washington blamed the Taliban government in Kabul on Tuesday for allowing Afghan territory to be used as a “safe haven” for terrorists, despite the fact that the United States had found no proof linking Afghan refugees to extremist acts in Pakistan.
The White House and State Department both had separate briefings in which they reaffirmed their commitment to working with the Pakistani government to combat terrorism.
U.S. officials made their comments public after a Monday session of corps commanders dismissed Afghan Taliban assurances that the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was not based in Afghanistan.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) reported that top military officials had expressed concern that the TTP terrorist group had access to both safe havens across the border and cutting-edge weaponry.
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif blamed the Afghan Taliban for the escalating tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which have been exacerbated by militant strikes in Balochistan over the past week.
Over the weekend, Asif voiced his worries about the services offered to Afghan refugees in Pakistan on the ‘Centre State’ program of the Express News.
White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby, meanwhile, informed the press that they had seen no evidence of radicalism on the part of Afghan migrants.
Kirby claimed that there was no evidence to suggest that Afghan refugees in Pakistan or along that border were involved in terrorist activity. To that end, he said, “we’re grateful to Pakistan for the incredible generosity… to so many Afghans.”
Kirby stated that Afghan migrants were “just looking for a safe and secure place” and that “we’ll continue to work with Pakistan as we have on their legitimate terrorism threats.”
The United States, according to State Department Spokesman Mathew Miller, expects the Taliban government in Kabul to prevent terrorists from using Afghanistan as a “safe haven” to commit strikes inside the country.
Miller was asked at his weekly media conference about the United States’ position on Pakistan’s warnings to the Afghan Taliban for harboring terrorists. “I don’t have any comment specifically on that,” Miller said.
“But I will say that 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 continued.
