Taliban accuses Pakistan of allowing US drones to infiltrate Afghanistan airspace

Taliban has accused Pakistani government of allowing US drones to use its airspace to get access to Afghanistan. On Sunday, August 28, Mullah Yaqoob, Taliban's acting Defence Minister, asserted that Pakistan was entry point for American drones into war-torn nation. dressing a press briefing along with Afghanistan's Army Chief, Yaqoob stated, "We have not detected all routes of drones, but our intelligence showed that United States drones were infiltrating through Pakistan," Express Tribune reported. 

Taliban's Defence Minister also called on Pakistan to not allow United States to use its airspace. Yaqoob furr claimed that Afghanistan's rar system was destroyed when US left nation in August 2021. He also claimed that re are 150,000 Taliban soldiers in national army as of now, split into eight border groups of 3,000 men each. Meanwhile, Yaqoob appealed to all neighbouring nations to take back ir helicopters and aeroplanes, stressing that no one would be permitted to station defence equipment on Afghan territory. 

Pakistan's MWM party asks govt to come clean over Taliban's accusation

Notably, Pakistan's Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) chairman Allama Raja Nasir has called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government to come clean over accusation me by Taliban's Defence Minister. "Govt must come clean on Taliban Defense Minister Mullah Yaqub's allegation that it allowed USA to use country's airspace for drone strikes in Afghanistan. This is unacceptable because it's a compromise on our principles. Who mandated this compromise? (sic)," he asked on Twitter. Earlier, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid stated that country registered its protest against US government's use of drones in Afghanistan's airspace. 

It is pertinent to mention here that Afghanistan's condition deteriorated after Taliban seized power from democratic Ashraf Ghani-led government on August 15, 2021, resulting in total collapse of system. Since Taliban's takeover, law and order situation in Afghanistan has also remained shaky with a shrinking economy and an unpredictable security situation for people. As per a recent UN Security Council (UNSC) report, al-Qaida, Islamic State, and insurgency in norrn district of Panjshir are among many challenges Taliban rule faces in war-torn country.  

Image: AP/Facebook/@Shehbaz Sharif