'Islamabad arming Afghans to fight anti-Pak insurgents': Ex-US envoy sounds alarm

The allegations come amid worsening ties between Islamabad and Kabul.

Former US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad has sounded the alarm over reports that Islamabad is recruiting Afghans to fight anti-Pakistan insurgents, warning that relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan are likely to deteriorate further. “There have been many reports that Pakistan is arming Afghans to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan. Now there are reports that the Pakistani military is recruiting Afghans to fight against anti-Pakistan insurgents. As things currently stand, relations between #Afghanistan and #Pakistan are likely to get much worse,” Khalilzad wrote.

Pakistan's information ministry on Saturday rejected Khalilzad's allegations as “baseless and misleading”, accusing him of promoting a narrative in support of the Taliban government in Afghanistan. The allegations come amid worsening ties between Islamabad and Kabul, with repeated border clashes and Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan adding to tensions this year.

On Saturday, Pakistani forces and Afghan Taliban personnel exchanged fire at several locations along the north-western border. Pakistani security officials and state-run media said troops, backed by artillery, destroyed Taliban posts during hours of fighting in Kurram district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Pakistani officials also claimed that troops killed an unspecified number of Pakistani Taliban militants attempting to cross into Pakistan from eastern Afghanistan. Kabul did not immediately comment on the clashes.

Pakistan has accused Afghanistan of providing sanctuary to leaders and fighters of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which is separate from but closely allied with the Afghan Taliban. Kabul has denied the allegations. The continuing violence has further strained relations between the two countries.