Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said during an interview with ARY News that Pakistan was like a second home for the Jihadist outfit. Zabihullah also said that Taliban would work to deepen ties with their neighbour.
“Afghanistan shares its borders with Pakistan. We are traditionally aligned when it comes to religion, the people of both the countries mingle with each other. So we are looking forward to further deepening of ties with Pakistan,” said Zabihullah Mujahid.
He also said that he hopes for good ties with India. “We hope that India will take into account the interests of Afghans when formulating policies,” he stated. The Taliban spokesperson also suggested that India and Pakistan should engage in a dialogue to resolve their concerns since they share mutual interests in other respects.
Zabihullah Mujahid also said, “We have previously stated that our soil will not be utilised against any other country. In this regard, our policy is crystal clear. ISIS does not have a presence in Afghanistan.”
Pakistan is known to have aided Taliban in its war against the Afghan Government. Pakistani nationals have often been found waging war against the Afghan government as part of the Taliban. On August 6, the Afghan Defense Ministry stated that out of the 112 slain Talibanis, there were 30 Pakistanis affiliated with Islamist terror outfit Al-Qaeda.
After the fall of Kabul, Resistance fighters had said, “9 taliban terrorists surrendered to the Resistance in Andarab district. 6 of them were nationals from Pakistan.” In July, Afghanistan’s first Vice-President Amrullah Saleh had accused the Pakistan air force of threatening Afghan forces with consequences if attempts were made to dislodge the Taliban from the Spin Boldak area.