Key Points
- Pakistan demands verifiable Afghan action against terrorist sanctuaries.
- Islamabad alleges facilitation of terrorist groups by Taliban officials.
- Pakistan says its security measures target terrorists, not Afghans.
- TTP and BLA remain central to the bilateral security dispute.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has rejected the Afghan Taliban regime’s denial of responsibility for terrorism inside Pakistan, urging Kabul to take verifiable action against terrorist sanctuaries and support networks operating from Afghan territory.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said allegations against Pakistan’s security institutions would not absolve the Afghan Taliban of its responsibility to prevent Afghan territory from being used to plan and launch attacks against Pakistan.
The ministry said Islamabad’s concerns were supported by international assessments, including a United Nations Security Council monitoring report and a US government assessment that identified the presence and activities of terrorist groups in Afghanistan.
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
Islamabad, 24 October 2026Taking note of the recent statements of the Afghan Taliban Regime where they have once again resorted to diversionary allegations instead of addressing Pakistan’s legitimate and longstanding security concerns. Blaming Pakistan’s security institutions does not absolve the Regime of its responsibility to prevent Afghan territory from being used for terrorism against Pakistan.
Pakistan’s concerns are not based on conjecture. The UN Security Council’s Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, in its sixteenth report (S/2025/796), examined the presence and activities of terrorist groups in Afghanistan. The US Lead Inspector General’s Operation Enduring Sentinel report to Congress for January–March 2026 further stated that the Afghan Taliban continued to allow Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to operate from Afghan territory and that Taliban support and greater freedom for the group contributed to increased attacks against Pakistan. The report estimated TTP strength at 4,000–6,000 fighters. These assessments underscore the seriousness of Pakistan’s concerns regarding terrorist sanctuaries and support networks operating from Afghan soil.
The assertion that Afghanistan lacks either the capacity or the interest to destabilise Pakistan does not address these documented concerns. Repeated attempts by armed terrorists to infiltrate across Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the killing of Afghan nationals and members of terrorist groups during Pakistan’s counter-terrorism operations, and the recovery of foreign-origin weapons from terrorist elements, all warrant serious scrutiny. Pakistan has also raised concerns over alleged facilitation of terrorist groups by Afghan Taliban officials, including officials in Kandahar. Such concerns cannot be dismissed through blanket denials; they require credible explanations and verifiable action.
Pakistan’s security measures are directed against terrorist threats, not the Afghan people. Peace and stability in both countries are closely linked, and the Afghan people stand as much to gain from a region free of terrorism as their Pakistani neighbours. The Afghan Taliban Regime must end any tolerance, facilitation or support for terrorist organisations, including TTP, BLA and their affiliates, and ensure that Afghan territory is not used to plan, prepare or launch attacks against Pakistan.
Attempts to portray Pakistan’s legitimate security concerns and necessary defensive measures as hostility towards Afghanistan will neither deflect attention from the issue nor resolve it. Pakistan will continue to take all necessary measures to protect its citizens, sovereignty and territorial integrity. It remains open to responsible engagement based on mutual respect, verifiable commitments and concrete action against terrorist sanctuaries, support networks and cross-border infiltration. However, Afghan Taliban Regime must understand that peace can only prevail in the region if Pakistan’s core concern of terrorism originating from Afghanistan is verifiably addressed by the Afghan Taliban.
— Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (@MoIB_Official) October 24, 2026
International assessments
Pakistan cited the UN Security Council’s Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team’s 16th report, which examined the security situation in Afghanistan and the activities of terrorist organisations operating there.
The report, submitted in December 2025, said the Taliban authorities continued to maintain that no terrorist groups operated in or from Afghanistan, but described such claims as not credible. It also said the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had carried out numerous high-profile attacks in Pakistan from Afghan soil.
Islamabad also referred to the US Lead Inspector General’s Operation Enduring Sentinel report to Congress covering January to March 2026. The report examined developments in Afghanistan, including the activities of the TTP, al-Qaeda and Islamic State-Khorasan Province.
According to Pakistan’s information ministry, the US assessment stated that the Afghan Taliban continued to allow the TTP to operate from Afghan territory and that Taliban support and greater freedom for the group contributed to increased attacks against Pakistan. It estimated the TTP’s strength at between 4,000 and 6,000 fighters.
Pakistan argued that these assessments reinforced its longstanding demand that Kabul prevent terrorist organisations from using Afghan territory to organise, prepare and launch attacks across the border.
Pakistan’s information ministry said repeated attempts by armed terrorists to infiltrate across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the deaths of Afghan nationals and members of terrorist groups during Pakistani counterterrorism operations, and the recovery of foreign-origin weapons from terrorist elements warranted serious scrutiny.
It also raised concerns about the alleged facilitation of terrorist organisations by Afghan Taliban officials, including officials in Kandahar.
The ministry said such allegations required credible explanations and verifiable action rather than blanket denials.
Pakistan distinguishes Afghans
The information ministry stressed that Pakistan’s security measures were directed against terrorist threats rather than the Afghan population. It said peace and stability in the two neighbouring countries were closely connected and that Afghans stood to benefit from a region free of terrorism as much as Pakistanis.
Pakistan called on the Afghan Taliban to end any tolerance, facilitation or support for terrorist organisations, specifically naming the TTP, the BLA and their affiliates. It urged Kabul to ensure that Afghan territory was not used to plan, prepare or launch attacks against Pakistan.
The ministry rejected attempts to portray Pakistan’s security concerns and defensive measures as hostility towards Afghanistan, saying such claims would neither resolve the dispute nor divert attention from the underlying security problem.
Door open to dialogue
Despite the sharp criticism, Pakistan said it remained open to responsible engagement with the Afghan Taliban.
The ministry said meaningful engagement would require mutual respect, verifiable commitments and concrete action against terrorist sanctuaries, support networks and cross-border infiltration. It reiterated that Pakistan would continue taking all necessary measures to protect its citizens, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The statement concluded that lasting regional peace depended on the Afghan Taliban addressing Pakistan’s core concern: the use of Afghan territory by terrorist organisations to conduct attacks inside Pakistan.
