ISLAMABAD: Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has rejected as misleading and baseless a statement by Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid alleging Pakistani involvement in armed clashes in Afghanistan’s Badakhshan province.
In a statement Tuesday, the ministry said Mujahid had made an unfounded claim that Pakistani authorities were involved in the violence. Pakistan said no credible evidence had been presented to support the allegation.
The ministry said the violence in Badakhshan reflected Afghanistan’s internal security and governance challenges rather than interference by Pakistan. It described the clashes as part of an internal armed struggle against what it called the Taliban’s nonrepresentative and repressive rule.
Pakistan said it has consistently supported a peaceful and stable Afghanistan and has no interest in destabilizing its neighboring country.
The ministry urged the Taliban administration to focus on problems arising from its own governance instead of blaming Pakistan for Afghanistan’s internal challenges.
“Assertions without evidence cannot substitute facts,” the ministry said, according to its statement.