Pakistan’s interim Prime Minister, Anwaarul Haq Kakar, claimed on Wednesday that since the resurgence of the Taliban administration in August, terrorist attacks in his country have surged by 60% in just the past two years.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Kakar emphasized that the current deportation of “illegal immigrants” is closely tied to counter-terrorism efforts.
Pakistan has expressed its hopes that Afghan territory would not serve as a base for terrorist activities against Pakistan following the formation of the interim Taliban government in August 2021.
The Pakistani government had expected that the Taliban administration would play a pivotal role in bringing enduring peace to its neighbouring Country, as reported by Express Tribune.
“We had hoped strict action would be taken against Pakistan-opposing groups, especially the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, and they would not be allowed to use Afghan soil against Pakistan,” Kakar stated.
“But unfortunately, after the establishment of the interim Afghan government, there has been a 60 per cent increase in terror incidents and a 500 per cent rise in suicide attacks in Pakistan,” he added.
“In the past two years, 2,267 innocent citizens’ lives have been lost to this tragic bloodshed, for which the terrorists of TTP are responsible,” he said.
“During this time, 15 Afghan citizens were also among the people involved in suicide attacks. Apart from this, till now, 64 Afghan citizens have been killed while fighting Pakistan’s law enforcement agencies during the counterterrorism campaign,” he added.
Meanwhile, Kakar refrained from disclosing specific details regarding the alleged involvement of Afghan nationals in any particular terrorist attack.
Starting on November 1, Pakistani authorities launched a crackdown targeting “undocumented” Afghan nationals.
This action has faced substantial criticism from both human rights organizations and members of civil society. Additionally, the Taliban administration has asserted that Afghanistan should not be held responsible for Pakistan’s perceived ‘security failures.’
