Militancy support charge rejected: Tit for tat on Taliban issue
ISLAMABAD, May 19: Allegations by Afghan president Hamid Karzai and a top British army officer that Pakistan is letting Taliban militants infiltrate Afghanistan to carry out attacks received swift condemnation from Islamabad on Friday that dismissed the charges as “ludicrous”.
The allegations were levelled by Mr Karzai and Col Chris Vernon, chief of staff for southern Afghanistan, following two days of bloody clashes in Afghanistan that left around 100 people dead, including scores of militants, 13 policemen and a woman Canadian soldier.
“There is no truth in this,” the foreign office spokesperson, Tasnim Aslam, told AFP. “Pakistan is not providing training to insurgents and it is not sending them to Afghanistan.”
The military also rubbished the claim by Col Vernon that Taliban militants were launching attacks in Afghanistan from its side of the border.
“Instead of speaking to the media, it would have been appropriate if Col Vernon had provided actionable and real-time intelligence,” a military statement said.
“This media projection only reflects their own inadequacy to deal with the situation and they start trumpeting irrationally when they feel the heat,” it added.
Vernon was quoted by Britain’s Guardian newspaper on Friday as saying that Taliban leaders were coordinating their campaign of violence in Afghanistan from Quetta.
“The thinking piece of the Taliban is out of Quetta in Pakistan. It’s the major headquarters,” he told the newspaper. “They use it to run a series of networks in Afghanistan.”
Ms Aslam said Islamabad had no role in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.
“If there is unrest in Afghanistan, Pakistan is not responsible,” she said. “Peace and stability in Afghanistan is in Pakistan’s interest.”
Pakistan also continued to support the process of rebuilding and reconciliation in Afghanistan.
“President Karzai himself has acknowledged Pakistan’s positive role in the presidential and parliamentary elections in Afghanistan,” she said, referring to the 2004 poll that brought Karzai to power and the 2005 parliamentary vote.—Agencies
ISLAMABAD, May 19: Allegations by Afghan president Hamid Karzai and a top British army officer that Pakistan is letting Taliban militants infiltrate Afghanistan to carry out attacks received swift condemnation from Islamabad on Friday that dismissed the charges as “ludicrous”.
