Pak ministers rejects top US general’s accusations
ISLAMABAD : Top Pakistani ministers have rejected a US general’s assertion that the Afghan Taliban leadership is based in Peshawar and Quetta, saying the militants were using neighbouring Afghanistan as the launch pad for their operations.
Gen John W Nicholson, the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, told Afghan media outlet Tolo News that Washington was aware of the Afghan Taliban leadership’s presence in the Pakistani cities.
Pakistan interior minister Ahsan Iqbal responded to Nicholson’s accusations by telling Dawn newspaper that the Taliban were using Afghanistan as their launch pad. He said the Taliban had no need to hide in Pakistan since they held more than 40% of Afghanistan. “If they have control over so much land and resources in Afghanistan, it means they have hideouts there,
Foreign minister Khawaja Asif said the US should refrain from blaming Pakistan for its 16 years of failures in Afghanistan.
In a related development, Pakistan has postponed a visit by Alice Wells, the acting assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs, who had been due to arrive in Islamabad on Monday, days after Donald Trump rebuked the country.
Her visit was put off “until a mutually convenient time”, with the Pakistan Foreign Office giving no reason for the decision.