Taliban accuses Pakistan of allowing US drones to infiltrate Afghanistan airspace

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

The Taliban's Defence Minister also called on Pakistan to not allow the United States to use its airspace. Yaqoob further claimed that Afghanistan's radar system was destroyed when the US left the nation in August 2021. He also claimed that there are 150,000 Taliban soldiers in the 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 their helicopters and aeroplanes, stressing that no one would be permitted to station defence equipment on the 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 the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government to come clean over the accusation made by the Taliban's Defence Minister. "Govt must come clean on Taliban Defense Minister Mullah Yaqub's allegation that it allowed the 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 the country registered its protest against the US government's use of drones in Afghanistan's airspace. 

It is pertinent to mention here that Afghanistan's condition deteriorated after the Taliban seized power from the democratic Ashraf Ghani-led government on August 15, 2021, resulting in the total collapse of the system. Since the Taliban's takeover, the 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, the Islamic State, and insurgency in the northern district of Panjshir are among the many challenges the Taliban rule faces in the war-torn country.  

Image: AP/Facebook/@Shehbaz Sharif