• FO rejects Taliban minister’s criticism, defends border operations
• Says no pause in expulsion of Afghans after deadly earthquake
• Spox avoids addressing Trump’s remarks, says SCO promotes multilateralism, peace

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday emphasised the seriousness of the threat posed to regional peace and stability by Afghanistan-based terrorist groups, calling it a common challenge that required collaborative efforts.

“Groups like Fitna Al-Khwarij represent a common threat to the peace and stability of our region, necessitating collective action to counter their malign influence,” Foreign Office spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan said at a weekly media briefing.

The government uses the term to refer to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorist group.

The spokesman was responding to questions about reported Pakistani strikes across the border and comments by Taliban acting Defence Minister Mullah Yaqoob, who accused Pakistan of blaming Afghanistan for its own security shortcomings.

Pakistan has long maintained that it faces a persistent threat from militant groups operating out of Afghanistan, including the TTP and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA). Multiple United Nations Security Council reports have noted the presence of sanctuaries for these groups in Afghanistan, which Islamabad says enable cross-border attacks.

Taliban officials, however, deny the allegations. In a recent media interview, Mullah Yaqoob said Pakistan’s security apparatus was to blame for failing to prevent militant infiltrations.

“If they cross into Pakistan from Afghanistan and travel deep inside Pakistani territory, why aren’t they stopped there? Instead of addressing this, Pakistan unjustly accuses Afghanistan,” he said.

Shafqat Ali dismissed the Taliban defence chief’s remarks as “an exercise in irony”. “It cannot mask the seriousness of this issue,” he said, adding: “The enormity of the matter cannot be diminished by whatever number of statements you issue.”

The FO spokesman said security forces and law enforcement agencies conduct “targeted operations in border regions to safeguard our citizens from terrorist threats”.

“These operations are meticulously planned based on credible and actionable intelligence and executed with precision,” he said, adding that Pakistan respects Afghanistan’s sovereignty and remains committed to dialogue and cooperation.

Expulsion of Afghans

FO spokesman rejected calls to pause the expulsion of Afghans following last weekend’s deadly earthquake in Afghanistan, insisting that deportations would continue and urging Germany to show seriousness in relocating vulnerable refugees.

“This is the global norm, and this is our sovereign decision regarding who we allow to enter or stay in our country. So, any person who’s illegal, we will repatriate that person,” Shafqat Ali said.

He was responding to an appeal by UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, who earlier this week urged Pakistan to suspend its ‘Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan’ because of the humanitarian crisis triggered by the earthquake.

“Given the circumstances, I appeal to the government of Pakistan to pause the implementation,” Grandi had said.

Shafqat Ali suggested there would be no extension of the Sept 1 deadline for Afghans to leave, noting that Pakistan already maintains a generous visa policy.

“We are issuing a large number of visas to Afghans under different categories, including visit, business, family, education and medical visas,” he said.

“For Afghanistan, we have a special category under which on-arrival visas are granted for certain medical emergencies. So, what I want to emphasise is that we already have a very liberalised visa regime in place.”

The FO spokesman also pressed Germany to accelerate the relocation of Afghans promised after the Taliban takeover. “We hope that they take it seriously. There is a large group of Afghans in Pakistan which the German side had committed to take to Germany. A number of deadlines have passed,” he said.

Trump’s criticism of SCO summit

The FO spokesman, while sidestepping direct comment on US President Donald Trump’s criticism of the gathering, said this week’s Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin promoted multilateralism and the pursuit of peace and prosperity.

“The recent Heads of States meeting and then in the expanded format meeting were very successful. The key message was of multilateralism, common prosperity, peace, security and development,” he noted.

He maintained that the SCO was not designed to work against any country.

Published in Dawn, September 6th, 2025