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A Foreign Office spokesperson on Friday, while commenting on this week’s Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) assault on military checkposts in Chitral, reiterated that weapons left behind by the U.S. in Afghanistan had “fallen in the hands of Afghan terrorists” and were now being used against Pakistan.
In a weekly press briefing, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said the situation required global attention. She also clarified that Pakistan had already informed the interim government of Afghanistan about its concerns, adding Pakistan’s security agencies were determined to eradicate terrorism from the country.
“We do not blame anyone but weapons left in Afghanistan require global attention since they have fallen in the hands of terrorist groups now,” she stressed. She said the Pakistan and the U.S. had “robust” dialogue on multiple areas, including security and counter-terrorism matters, adding Islamabad had communicated its security concerns to Washington and other partners.
Earlier this week, interim Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar told journalists weapons left behind by America had fallen into the hands of terrorists and were being used against Pakistan. In response, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the U.S. had transferred weapons to Afghan forces that had since been taken up by terrorists after the Taliban took over the country.
During her briefing, the spokesperson said the Pak-Afghan border should be a border of peace, as she confirmed that the Torkham border crossing had been shut for two days due to security concerns. The border crossing was shut on Wednesday after a clash between security forces of both countries over the construction of a checkpost on the Afghan side close to the border. Baloch said authorities were negotiating with the interim Afghan government to resolve the situation.
The spokesperson also confirmed caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani would preside over the Commonwealth Youth Ministerial Conference in London from Sept. 12-15.
Discussing ongoing human rights violations in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, she said various international human rights organizations had written letters to inform G20 countries of the restrictions on freedom of expression and atrocities in the disputed region ahead of the moot taking place in Delhi this week. She advised India to focus on the challenges of its own people, and refrain from passing unnecessary comments on Pakistan.