Pakistan says Kabul not abiding by Doha agreement, vows to act against militant ‘safe havens’

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s defense minister, Khawaja Asif, said on Saturday Afghanistan was not abiding by the Doha agreement and Islamabad would no longer allow it to continue providing “safe havens” to militants involved in killing Pakistani citizens. 

The minister’s comments come a day after Pakistan’s army chief, General Asim Munir, said the Pakistani armed forces had “serious concerns” regarding the safe havens and liberty of action available to the Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), in Afghanistan. 

The statements follow a major attack in the southwestern Balochistan province, which borders Afghanistan, in which fighters associated with a new armed faction, the Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan (TJP), stormed a garrison and killed nine Pakistani soldiers. 

In his statement on Twitter, Defense Minister Asif accused Afghanistan of not fulfilling the “right to be a neighbor and brotherly country,” despite the fact that up to 6 million Afghans refugees have been living in Pakistan with all rights for the last 40 years. 

“On the contrary, terrorists who shed the blood of Pakistanis can find refuge on Afghan soil. This situation cannot continue any longer,” he said. “Pakistan will use all its resources to protect its land and citizens.” 

On Friday, the Pakistani army chief said Munir said the involvement of Afghan nationals in militant attacks inside Pakistan was “intolerable” and would elicit an “effective response” from the Pakistani military. 

The statements come amid an uptick in militant violence in Pakistan’s northwestern and southwestern parts that border Afghanistan. 

The attacks have increased particularly after the Pakistani Taliban called off a fragile, months-long truce with the central government in Islamabad in November last year. 

The militant group, which maintains sanctuaries in neighboring Afghanistan, is separate from but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban.