US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has acknowledged Pakistan’s concerns over terrorist attacks originating from Afghan territory, saying Washington does not want Pakistan to become a target of terrorism.
Speaking in Atlanta on Saturday after the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting, Rubio said Pakistan was concerned about attacks launched from Afghanistan and believed the Afghan Taliban had failed to take sufficient action to prevent them.
“Pakistan is concerned about terrorist attacks that are being sponsored from the territory of Afghanistan. They feel that the Taliban is not doing enough to constrain those attacks, and they’ve taken action against it,” Rubio said.
“We obviously have heard those concerns on their part. We obviously don’t want them to be targeted by terrorism,” he added.
Rubio’s remarks came as Islamabad renewed its criticism of the Afghan Taliban over what it described as Kabul’s failure to address terrorist activity originating from Afghan soil.
Pakistan Rejects Taliban’s Position
In a statement issued on Saturday, Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting rejected remarks by Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid.
The ministry accused the Taliban leadership of shifting blame to Islamabad while ignoring what it described as the central issue undermining bilateral relations: terrorism originating from Afghanistan.
It said Pakistan would not tolerate terrorist sanctuaries across the border and reserved the right to take all necessary measures under international law to eliminate threats to its national security.
The ministry also described the Taliban regime’s continued failure to address terrorism as the main obstacle to normal relations between the two countries.
It warned that Pakistan’s security would not be held hostage to the regime’s “inaction, evasions or misplaced priorities”.
Dispute Over Cross-Border Militancy
Islamabad has repeatedly urged Kabul to take verifiable action against militant groups, particularly the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Pakistani officials accuse the group of operating from Afghan territory and using it to launch attacks inside Pakistan.
However, the Afghan Taliban authorities have denied allowing militants to use Afghanistan as a base for attacks against Pakistan.
The dispute remains a major source of tension between the neighbouring countries, despite repeated diplomatic contacts and efforts to improve bilateral relations.
