KABUL: The Taliban’s acting defence minister asserted on Sunday that Pakistan had permitted American drones to infiltrate Afghanistan through its airspace, a claim Pakistan has since refuted in the wake of a US airstrike on Kabul.
At a press briefing in Kabul, acting defence minister Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob informed the media that American drones have been infiltrating Afghanistan through Pakistan.
Our intelligence indicates that Pakistani drones are entering Afghanistan and using its airspace. We want Pakistan to refrain from using its airspace to attack us
Taliban claim to have missed the body of an al Qaeda leader.
Afghanistan now enjoys security thanks to the Taliban, but there is little optimism for the future.Pakistan refuses to allow US drone strike to kill al-Qaeda leader in its airspace.
An inquiry for comment was not immediately answered by Pakistan’s foreign ministry.The United States claimed to have carried out a drone operation in Kabul in July that killed Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of al Qaeda. Pakistani authorities have denied any role in the attack or prior knowledge of it.
At a moment when the Afghan Taliban are serving as a mediator in negotiations between Pakistan and a militant organisation affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban, Yaqoob’s remarks could increase tension between the two neighbouring countries. Afghanistan likewise heavily relies on commerce with Pakistan as a result of its economic difficulties.
According to the Taliban, which claimed to be investigating the airstrike in July, the body of the Al Qaeda leader has not yet been found.Authorities in Pakistan have denied having any involvement with or prior knowledge of the US drone operation that killed Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of al Qaeda.
American drones, according to acting defence minister Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, have started infiltrating Afghanistan through Pakistan.
The body of the Al Qaeda chief has not been located, according to the Taliban, which claimed to be looking into the July airstrike.
