The Taliban accused citizens of Tajikistan and Pakistan of terrorist attacks in Afghanistan

The Taliban movement on January 22, 2025, identified citizens of Tajikistan and Pakistan as the main perpetrators of terrorist attacks in Afghanistan.

The Taliban’s security and verification commission noted in its annual report on January 22, 2025, that “the attacks were mainly planned outside of Afghanistan, and the perpetrators entered Afghanistan under various pretexts from abroad.”

The report states that most of the perpetrators of the terrorist attacks were citizens of Tajikistan and Pakistan.

The report also claims that numerous commanders, key officials, organizers, and perpetrators of major attacks, as well as hundreds of their members, have been killed or detained in Afghanistan.

At the same time, Tajikistan has repeatedly expressed concern about the presence of ISIS in Afghanistan. Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, at a meeting of the CSTO member states, advocated for the creation of a “security belt” around the country, and this proposal was supported by regional countries at the CSTO meeting in 2022.

At that time, Rahmon stated that he considered it necessary to create a security belt to prevent dangers and threats from ISIS and other terrorist groups present in Afghanistan.

However, the Pakistani government accuses Afghanistan of harboring militants from Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (the Pakistani Taliban), who plan attacks on Pakistani territory.

Former Pakistani ambassador Asif Durrani stated that the Pakistani Taliban operates in eastern Afghanistan with the support of the Haqqani network. Pointing to recent ties between the Haqqani network and Pakistan’s intelligence services, he noted that they act simultaneously as both friends and enemies.

In response to the rising instability, Pakistan carried out airstrikes on targets and objectives of the Pakistani Taliban in Paktika province, as well as on Afghan territory.