KABUL - Afghan Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Abdullah Abdullah has called on Pakistan to halt support to Taliban group in Afghanistan, raising questions regarding the sincerity of Islamabad to act against the militants waging war in the country.
Speaking during a meeting of the Council of Ministers, CEO Abdullah once again alleged the Taliban group still receives support from within Pakistan.
Abdullah pointed towards the recent military operation across the Durand Line which resulted into heavy casualties to Taliban militants, saying: “This huge amount of insurgents killed in a single incident near Pakistan shows that Taliban were still supported within Pakistan.”
At least 150 insurgents were killed during clashes with the Afghan security forces along the Durand Line in southern Kandahar province of Afghanistan last week.
Reiterating Kabul’s stance for the betterment of ties between the two nations, CEO Abdullah insisted that support to insurgent groups must be stopped in a bid to build trust between the two neighboring countries.
In response to the latest statement by the Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif regarding Islamabad’s efforts to revive stalled peace talks, Abdullah said the Afghan government expects from Pakistan to stop supporting the Taliban group.
The Afghan officials have long been criticising Pakistan for supporting the Afghan Taliban and other insurgent groups fighting in Afghanistan through their save havens in Pakistan, specifically the Taliban and Haqqani terrorist network.
Diplomatic Observers in Islamabad and Kabul say that both sides are alleging each others for harbouring terrorists. They said Pakistan Taliban head Mulla Fazlullah is being provided shelter by Afghanistan and despite repeated demands by Pakistan he has not been handed over to Islamabad. He was behind the terrorist attack at Army Public School in Peshawar.