Taliban defence minister accuses Pakistan of permitting US drones to make use of its airspace

The Taliban’s performing defence minister on Sunday accused Pakistan of permitting US drones to make use of its airspace to entry Afghanistan, an allegation that has been vehemently refuted by Pakistan authorities.

Narrating the one-year efficiency of the Taliban authorities, which took management of Afghanistan final yr, at a press convention in Kabul, performing defence minister Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob mentioned, “We hadn’t caught all routes of the drones but our intelligence reported that US drones were entering through Pakistan. We demand that Pakistan does not allow its air space to be used by the US.”

The Taliban Defence Minister, Mulla Yaqoob says that the international locations radar system was destroyed when the Americans evacuated however our intelligence means that the US Drone’s had been getting into by way of Pakistan. “We demand that Pakistan does not allow its air space” [Video: RTA Pashto] pic.twitter.com/jetG2K0kPi

— The Khorasan Diary (@khorasandiary) August 28, 2022

Yaqub added that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) radar system was destroyed when the US troops evacuated the nation in August final yr however intelligence sources recommend that US drones had been getting into by way of Pakistan. “The United States is grossly violating Afghanistan’s sovereignty and the Doha agreement,” he added.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency declined to remark.

While taking questions from reporters, Yaqoob mentioned investigation of the killing of Al-Qaeda chief Ayman-al-Zawahiri, who was killed in a CIA drone strike carried out in Kabul on July 31, continues to be underway and his physique is but to be recovered.

The Al-Qaeda chief’s killing signifies that the US has over-the-horizon functionality to take out high-value targets and importantly with out having any US footprints on the bottom in Afghanistan. His killing has raised questions on how the CIA executed the operation.

Pakistani authorities have beforehand denied involvement in or superior information of the drone strike the US claimed to have carried out, which led to Zawahiri’s loss of life.

“I really don’t believe that this is a time that I wish to get into a debate with anyone or to have accusations … I’m focused on the flood relief efforts,” Bhutto-Zardari mentioned in an interview, referring to rain-induced floods in Pakistan which have killed over 900 folks and have left tens of millions homeless.

“The Afghan regime has promised not only to its own people, but to the international community, that they will not allow their soil to be used for terrorists,” mentioned Yaqub.

Pakistan’s overseas ministry launched an announcement saying it famous Yaqoob’s feedback with “deep concern”.

“In the absence of any evidence, as acknowledged by the Afghan minister himself, such conjectural allegations are highly regrettable and defy the norms of responsible diplomatic conduct,” the assertion mentioned.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has mentioned the Taliban “grossly violated” a 2020 settlement on the withdrawal of U.S-led forces from Afghanistan by internet hosting and sheltering Zawahiri.

Yaqoob’s feedback may exacerbate tensions between Afghanistan and its neighbour at a time when the Afghan Taliban is mediating talks between Islamabad and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, a Pakistani Taliban militant group.

The TTP has been accountable for quite a few assaults inside Pakistan, together with an assault on a faculty in Peshawar that killed 149, in addition to assaults on troopers and navy checkpoints.

In May, negotiations brokered by the Taliban result in a “permanent-ceasefire” between Pakistan and the TTP. Afghanistan, which is present process an acute financial disaster, additionally depends closely on commerce with Pakistan.

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