The Taliban on Monday declared that it will not permit any country, including Pakistan, to meddle in Afghanistan’s internal affairs as it verified that ISI chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed met the insurgent group’s de-facto leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in Kabul, amidst attempts to establish the new government in the war-torn country.<\/p>\n
Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said that the group will not allow any country, including Pakistan, to interfere in Afghanistan\u2019s internal affairs, Afghanistan’s Khaama news reported.<\/p>\n
The topic of interference in Afghanistan’s internal affairs was raised after the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Lt Gen Hameed arrived at Kabul on an unannounced visit last week.<\/p>\n
Lt Gen Hameed was the first high-ranking foreign official to visit Afghanistan since the Taliban seized the Afghan capital in mid-August.\u00a0 During a press conference in Kabul on Monday, Mujahid confirmed that the ISI chief had met with Mullah Baradar during his visit to Kabul, BBC Urdu reported.<\/p>\n
The Taliban has promised Islamabad that Afghan territory will not be used against Pakistan, he said. Earlier, Pakistani media reported that a delegation of senior officials led by Lt Gen Hameed was in Kabul at the invitation of the Taliban, but the Taliban said that Islamabad had proposed his visit.<\/p>\n
Ahmadullah Wasiq, deputy head of the Taliban\u2019s Cultural Commission, said that the Taliban leaders talked with Lt Gen Hameed about bilateral relations and the difficulties of Afghan passengers at the Torkham and Spin Boldak passes between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
\n“This Pakistani official has come to solve Afghan passengers\u2019 problems at the border areas, especially in Torkham and Spin Boldak. They wanted (his visit to Kabul) and we accepted,\u201d Wasiq was quoted as saying by TOLO news.<\/p>\n
Pakistan on Thursday tentatively closed the Chaman border crossing – the second-largest commercial border point with Afghanistan after the Torkham commercial town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa \u2013 due to security threats.<\/p>\n
Presently, the country faces the fear of starvation. The United Nations is set to hold a key summit on September 13 to come up with a plan to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan. Various aid agencies have repeatedly said that stocks of food grain, medicines, etc are rapidly diminishing at a frightening rate. If the global agencies don\u2019t get a safe passage, several hundred thousand Afghans will face acute starvation.<\/p>\n
The world is presently unclear on its stand with the Taliban\u2019s legitimacy as it has usurped power and not an elected government.\u00a0 There is a muffled silence from the UK and the US, while India has also contacted the Taliban via its political office in Doha. Russia, Pakistan, and China have been operating their embassies in Kabul.<\/p>\n
In all this, the Taliban issues a mild warning that they would not allow any country to interfere in Afghanistan\u2019s internal affairs.<\/p>\n