Afghan refugees not involved in Pakistan’s security problems: Taliban

ISLAMABAD: Afghan refugees are not involved in Pakistan’s security problems, spokesman for the Taliban administration in Kabul said on Wednesday, calling on Islamabad to reconsider plans to expel illegal Afghan immigrants.

Zabihullah Mujahid also said in a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that the refugees should be “tolerated” by Pakistan as long as they did not leave voluntarily.

“The behaviour of Pakistan against Afghan refugees is unacceptable,” he said. “The Pakistani side should reconsider its plan. Afghan refugees are not involved in Pakistan’s security problems. As long as they leave Pakistan voluntarily, that country should tolerate them.”

His remarks come after Pakistan on Tuesday gave illegal immigrants a deadline to leave by November 1 or face forcible expulsion.

In a presser, Caretaker Interior Minister Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti said Afghan nationals were found involved in recent terrorist attacks in the country including one in Peshawar mosque, Qila Saifullah, Zhob, and Hangu.

“We were attacked from the Afghanistan side and Afghan nationals are involved in the terrorist attacks,” the minister said, while addressing a press conference, after the apex committee meeting on the National Action Plan (NAP).

The committee decided to evict illegal immigrants and set November 1 as the deadline for the illegal immigrants to leave the country; otherwise, action will be taken against them.

To a question about cross-border terrorism, he said that since January this year, 24 terrorist attacks occurred in the country, and Afghan nationals were found involved in 14 of these attacks. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is taking up the matter with the Afghan interim government, he said.