Taliban won't allow Pak to interfere in Afghanistan’s internal affairs: Report

The statement from the Islamist group comes after it confirmed that Inter-Services Intelligence chief Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed met Taliban’s de-facto leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in Kabul last week in an unannounced visit.

The Taliban on Monday said it won’t allow Pakistan or any other nation to interfere with Afghanistan’s internal affairs, news agency PTI reported. The statement from the Islamist group comes after it confirmed that Inter-Services Intelligence chief Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed met Taliban’s de-facto leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in Kabul last week in an unannounced visit.

A Pakistani paramilitary soldier, left, and Taliban fighters stand guard on their respective sides, at a border crossing point between Pakistan and Afghanistan, in Torkham, in Khyber district, Pakistan. (AP Photo)

Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid, while speaking to Afghan news agency Khaama, said the group will not allow any country to interfere in the nation’s internal affairs. ISI chief Hameed was the first high-ranking foreign official to visit Afghanistan from Pakistan following the Taliban takeover last month.

Mujahid confirmed that Baradar met Hameed, news agency BBC Urdu reported citing people familiar with the development. He also said that the Taliban assured Islamabad that the Afghan soil will not be used against Pakistan.

Pakistan earlier said that the ISI chief visited the nation on the Taliban’s invitation, but the Islamist group denied the claim and said that Pakistan proposed the meeting. The group, however, said that the Pakistani spy agency chief was in Afghanistan to improve bilateral relations between Kabul and Islamabad.

Taliban spokesperson and deputy head of its cultural commission, Ahmadullah Wasiq, said that both the leaders discussed problems faced by passengers at the Torkham and Spin Boldak passes between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“The Pakistani official came to solve Afghan passengers’ problems at the border areas, especially in Torkham and Spin Boldak. They wanted (his visit to Kabul) and we accepted,” Wasiq was quoted as saying by Afghan news agency Tolo News.

Pakistan closed the Chaman border crossing, which is the second-largest commercial border point with Afghanistan after Torkham in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, owing to security concerns.

The high-level visit of Pakistan ISI chief to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan caused concern and surprise among security experts. The Afghanistan government, led by former president Ashraf Ghani, accused Pakistan of giving the Taliban military aid.