Pakistan asks Afghanistan to hand over terrorists

ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has demanded the interim government of Afghanistan to hand over the Pakistani nationals who were illegally residing in Afghanistan and were involved in terrorist activities against their own country.

Addressing a press conference here at the PM House on Wednesday, he said: “We are ready to receive these terrorists.”

To a question, Kakar said there was no pressure from the United States relating to the repatriation of illegal foreigners based in Islamabad and other parts of the country. “It should not be in your mind that the US or any other country will pressurise Pakistan. Why will any country pressurise us? Are they going to declare war on us?”

He pointed out that in diplomacy, other countries make requests and describing them as pressure was not justified. “Neither Pakistan takes any pressure nor will do so in future,” he said.

According to Geo News, the interim PM said that he could not show a video of the meeting with the US ambassador, adding that some matters are state secrets.

The interim prime minister said that following the installation of interim government in Afghanistan in August 2012, it was expected that at last peace would prevail in the neighbouring country and the two states would also find new ways of progress and prosperity.

During the presser, Kakar was asked to comment on the reported presence of 2,000 illegal Americans and 25,000 illegal Afghans in Islamabad and if they would be sent to Western countries. The questioner was of the view that 25,000 Afghans who are undocumented were highly trained operators, and the US ambassador in a meeting with the caretaker PM had sought some time for their removal from Islamabad.

“All these people are documented and our agencies and organisations are keeping their data and the countries where they would be sent, and we continue to share them regularly,” Kakar said. He said the government had also asked the Western countries, the destination of 25,000 Afghans, to give a time-frame for their departure from here.

To a question, he said that it has been proven that weapons left by the US forces are being sold in the black market not only in Pakistan but in the whole region and even in the Middle East and are being used. “It has no relevance whether they deny or accept the evidence,” he said. “We have raised concerns over it and I myself took up the issue at different forums during my visit to the US,” he said, adding that there was a realisation about it.

The caretaker prime minister also asked the Afghan government to take action against the hideouts of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its training centres in Afghanistan. “The Afghan regime should ensure that its soil is not used against Pakistan,” he added.

The monitoring team of the United Nations in its report released this July clearly highlighted that TTP centres based in Afghanistan were conducting terrorist operations against Pakistan.

Asked if Pakistan itself would take action against the TTP hideouts in Afghanistan, Kakar said: “We are hopeful that they [Afghan government] will take an action themselves, which is in our mutual interest.”

However, he regretted that since the Afghan interim government took over, there has been 60 percent to 500 percent increase in incidents of terrorism and suicide attacks, which has caused 2,267 innocent Pakistanis to lose their lives.

Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said following a review of Pakistan’s policy towards Afghanistan, it is expected that relations between the two countries would improve. “Our previous policy was taken for granted by them but now we have to review it,” he said.

Kakar said that Pakistan had to review its policy following no response from the Afghan interim government despite visits of delegations, talks between senior officials and requests to check the activities of TTP and other anti-Pakistani elements.

The prime minister regretted that the Afghan government despite its assurances failed to take action against the anti-Pakistan terrorists despite the fact that it was provided with a list of wanted terrorists and evidence of facilitation to miscreants. The Afghan regime, instead of taking any concrete steps against the TTP, asked the Pakistan government to focus on the country’s internal situation, he said.

He pointed out that 15 Afghan nationals were involved in suicide attacks while 64 Afghan drug traffickers were killed fighting against law enforcement agencies. He said that since February 2023, the Pakistani authorities have been informing Afghanistan of terror acts in Pakistan.

Kakar said that in February 2023, over 100 innocent Pakistanis were martyred and after that, the defence minister with a delegation, including the ISI director general, visited Afghanistan and conveyed it to the interim regime to choose between Pakistan and TTP. “We have also been asking the Afghan government to eliminate terrorism through continuous political, diplomatic, military, informal and formal ways,” he said.

Kakar pointed that in view of all such circumstances, it was the legal and moral right of Pakistan to return all illegal foreigners to their homelands. “After seeing the Afghan government’s attitude of noncooperation, the Pakistan government decided to come into action. In this regard, the recent measures are neither unexpected nor surprising,” he said.

Kakar said that the Pakistani nation open-heartedly accepted Afghan refugees and hosted them, but in response unnecessary and uncalled-for allegations from the officials of Afghan government were highly regrettable. He pointed out that 1.4 million registered Afghans with Proof of Residence were residing in Pakistan with respect. Nearly 0.8 million Afghans were registered through the Afghan Citizen Cards previously, who were residing here illegally. “They have been allowed to reside here for the time being, and in the first phase they have the freedom to live here and do business in Pakistan without any pressure,” he said.

The interim PM said that all state institutions have made the best possible arrangements at Torkham, Chaman and other border areas to ensure the dignified return of illegal Afghan nationals. “We also expect the interim Afghan government to take appropriate steps on the pattern of Pakistan on their side of the border for facilitation of returnees,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Afghan interim government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid in a statement said: “Regarding the recent claims of the interim prime minister of Pakistan, we must say that just as the Islamic Emirate wants peace and stability in Afghanistan, it also wants peace in Pakistan.

“The Islamic Emirate does not allow anyone to use the territory of Afghanistan against Pakistan.

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is not responsible for maintaining peace in Pakistan, they should solve their internal problems by themselves and not blame Afghanistan for their failures.

“Since insecurity has increased in Pakistan after the victory of the Islamic Emirate, it does not mean that we are behind the insecurity in Pakistan. “Weapons are safe in Afghanistan, they are not stolen, arms smuggling is prohibited and all illegal activities are prevented.

“As a brother and neighbouring country, Afghanistan wants good relations with Pakistan, the Pakistani side should also understand the intentions of the Islamic Emirate and have no doubt about it. IEA does not want to interfere in the affairs of other countries and take measures against them,” the statement concluded.

Meanwhile, Pakistan and Uzbekistan reiterated their resolve to finalise the Strategic Partnership Agreement at the earliest to promote regional economic integration. The bilateral ties were discussed in a meeting between caretaker Prime Minister Kakar and President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, on the sidelines of the 16th Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) being held in Tashkent. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to play an active role in regional connectivity. They exchanged views on deepening bilateral cooperation in a range of areas, including political, trade, economic, security, defence and connectivity.

Expressing satisfaction at the growing level of bilateral cooperation, Kakar stressed the importance of sustaining the momentum. He underlined that the recent operationalisation of the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) and Transit Trade Agreement (UPTTA) would boost bilateral trade and transit trade in addition to streamlining including political, trade, economic, security, defence, and connectivity. They reaffirmed their commitment to the early completion of Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan railway project. They also discussed the ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza and other regional and global developments.

Earlier, the caretaker PM arrived in Tashkent and was warmly welcomed by Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Abdulla Nigmatovich Aripov.Meanwhile, in an interview, caretaker PM Kakar called for enhanced engagement with the Western capitals to make Israel realise that the Gaza war could have a spillover effect beyond the region.

“We need to engage with different Western capitals, particularly Washington and London, and they need to make the Israeli side realise that they are contributing to destabilise the region, but probably it would have a spillover effect beyond the region,” he said.

When asked if the Pakistan government had received any requests from the United States to soften its stance against Israel as it continued attacks on Gaza, Kakar said, “I’m not aware of any such request and I don’t think so any government would listen to any such request which in my opinion is surreal; it’s absurd to even think of requesting someone to be silent on such an account.” He called for an immediate “cessation of violence” and labelled Israel’s assault on Gaza “genocide, clearly”.

He told the interviewer that he would be travelling to Riyadh this weekend for an extraordinary session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to discuss Israel’s attacks on Palestine. “You can’t just kill children and say that you have got the right to defend yourself. It’s the license to barbaric retaliation.”

Asked if Muslim nations were doing enough for Gaza, Kakar raised questions about the role of the world’s estimated 1.8 billion Muslims, who make up 24 percent of the global population, in “facing the kind of situation which we are in”. “We need to ask more deep questions from this entire [Muslim] population, that what kind of contribution globally we are having… toward science and technology, what kind of defence capabilities these different 50 or 57 countries are developing for themselves,” Kakar said.