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Pakistan says ceasefire with Afghanistan not holding as militants still carry out attacks
Pakistan’s foreign ministry says the ceasefire with Afghanistan is not holding as Afghan nationals are still carrying out attacks in Pakistan.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi told a news conference on Friday that the aim of the ceasefire agreement was to end militant attacks in Pakistan.
“The ceasefire between Pakistan and Afghanistan does not imply a traditional ceasefire implemented after two belligerent states engage in war or conflict,” Andrabi said. “The Pakistan–Afghanistan ceasefire implied that there would be no terrorist attacks by Afghan-sponsored terrorist proxies inside Pakistan.”
He added that since the understanding was reached, there have been “major terrorist attacks.”
Andrabi noted that attacks involving Afghan nationals, including one in Islamabad, make it difficult for Pakistan to be “very optimistic about the ceasefire.”
Tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan over security issues have escalated to an unprecedented level. About a month and a half ago, Pakistan carried out airstrikes inside Afghan territory, and the two sides clashed near the Durand Line.
Pakistani officials have consistently claimed that attacks in the country are being orchestrated by militant groups in Afghanistan. The Islamic Emirate, however, has rejected this claim and said that Pakistan should seek the root of the insecurity problem on its own soil.
Noor Jalal Jalali, Afghanistan’s Minister of Public Health, is likely to visit India next week, Indian newspaper Tribune reported.
Jalali will be the third minister from the Islamic Emirate to visit India, following Amir Khan Muttaqi, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Nooruddin Azizi, Minister of Industry and Commerce.
The visit comes as health cooperation between the two countries expands. New Delhi is currently supporting major medical infrastructure projects in Afghanistan and supplying medicines and vaccines to strengthen public health services.
Although India does not formally recognize the Islamic Emirate, it has recently sought to deepen its engagement with Kabul.
Pakistan’s Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry on Friday met with UK’s Minister of State for International Development and Africa, Baroness Chapman of Darlington, to discuss a range of issues, including the relocation of Afghan nationals to the United Kingdom.
According to a press release from Pakistan’s Ministry of State for Interior, Baroness Chapman welcomed and commended Pakistan’s initiatives in facilitating migration cooperation between the two countries.
The officials also held talks on security matters.
Maulawi Abdul Kabir, Afghanistan’s Minister of Refugees and Repatriation, has stressed that Afghan refugees are not a burden on host countries, but rather make meaningful economic contributions.
Speaking at a graduation ceremony at a religious school in Paktia, he said that any assistance provided by host countries to Afghan refugees in the past was driven by their own interests.
“Afghans earn their own livelihoods; they own factories and shops,” he said. “No country in the world can claim that Afghans are a burden. Did Afghans go door to door asking for handouts? Did they engage in theft? Host countries collect taxes from Afghans and use that revenue to develop their own economies.”
Maulawi Abdul Kabir urged Afghan migrants to return home and resume their economic activities freely.
“We call on investors abroad: if you are living without dignity, return and invest in Afghanistan willingly,” he said. “Rehabilitate land, expand agriculture, create jobs for the people, and help make wheat cheaper.”
His remarks come amid ongoing calls by some neighboring countries for the return of Afghan migrants, often portraying them as a burden on host societies.
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