Afghan President Blames Pakistan for Sheltering Taliban

In the wake of last week’s Taliban attack on a government intelligence building–which resulted in 64 deaths and 347 injuries–Afghan President Ashraf Ghani called on Pakistan to cease its support for militants.

“The enemies of Afghanistan are Daesh, al-Qaeda, the murderous Haqqani network, and some of the Taliban who enjoy shedding the blood of their countrymen,” Ghani said in a speech to a joint session of parliament also broadcast on television. He said these militant groups “are being hosted and aided from the territory of Pakistan.”

While some have categorized Ghani’s speech as signaling a shift in policies, the rhetoric is similar to statements made last year. In  August 2015 after a series of attacks in Kabul resulted in at least 50 deaths, Ghani gave a televised address in which he said, “We don’t want Pakistan to bring the Taliban to peace talks, but to stop the Taliban’s activities on their soil.”

That spate of attacks–which included an assault on the Kabul airport–came just two weeks after the news broke that Mullah Omar had died in 2013 in Pakistan, a fact the Taliban (and Islamabad) had kept secret.

In his recent speech Ghani said, “We expect Pakistan to honor its commitments in the Quadrilateral Coordination Group and take military action against those who, according to our security institutions and the intelligence services of our allies, are operating out of Pakistan.”

Read More- The Diplomat

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