Islamabad has denied allegations from Kabul that its intelligence agencies recruited, trained, and facilitated the cross-border movement of Daesh-linked fighters. This denial follows claims by Afghan forces that they killed 28 and captured 32 such fighters in the northeastern Nuristan province on Saturday.
The Afghan Defense Ministry stated that the fighters crossed into the Kamdesh district from Pakistan on Saturday, alleging that multiple Daesh-affiliated groups were dispatched with Pakistani backing to conduct attacks. Islamabad rejected these claims, stating that Kabul has provided no evidence to support them.
“The allegations made by the Afghan Taliban regime connecting Pakistan to the violence in Nuristan are baseless and entirely devoid of truth,” the Pakistani information ministry stated in a post on X.
“Pakistan categorically rejects the fabricated claims of involvement by its security forces or intelligence agencies in any internal clashes in Nuristan or elsewhere in Afghanistan, including allegations of recruiting or training former Afghan security personnel or facilitating Daesh or any other terrorist group operating in the country,” the ministry added.
The Afghan Defense Ministry asserted that most of the individuals involved were former members of Afghanistan’s military who served under the previous government, which was overthrown when the Taliban regained power in August 2021.
It alleged that Pakistani intelligence agencies brought the former military personnel to Pakistan under the pretense of offering asylum abroad and high salaries. They were reportedly taken to camps operated by Pakistan’s military and intelligence agencies, given brief military training, and then sent back into Afghanistan to destabilize Nuristan.
Pakistan stated that Kabul failed to provide any identities, documents, communications, forensic evidence, or independent verification to substantiate the allegations.
Pakistan also dismissed a video circulating on social media that it claimed was presented as evidence. Islamabad argued that the footage showed a few unarmed individuals and appeared to be a “pre-planned video shoot.” The authenticity and circumstances of the video could not be independently verified.
These latest accusations emerge amid a sharp deterioration in relations between the neighboring countries, driven by militant violence and increasingly direct military confrontations.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Taliban government in Afghanistan of harboring the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militants, which Islamabad claims use Afghan territory to plan and execute cross-border attacks. Kabul denies providing safe haven to militants and insists that Pakistan’s security issues are an internal matter.
United Nations monitoring reports have documented the presence of militant groups in Afghanistan. A UN report released this year noted that no member state supported the Taliban authorities’ assertion that no militant groups exist in the country. The report stated that the TTP is among the largest groups operating there, enjoying greater liberty and support from the de facto authorities.
“It is particularly ironic for the Afghan Taliban regime to accuse Pakistan of supporting terrorism while terrorist organizations operating from Afghanistan continue to pose a direct threat to Pakistan and regional security,” the Pakistani information ministry stated.
Militant violence has surged in Pakistan’s northwestern regions near Afghanistan in recent weeks.
A gun-and-bomb assault on a police compound in Kohat on September 18 killed 23 people, including 17 police officers, according to police and counterterrorism officials. A militant faction led by Hafiz Gul Bahadur claimed responsibility for the attack.
On Saturday, the TTP claimed responsibility for an attack near the Aman Mela checkpoint in Dera Ismail Khan district, which killed at least 12 people and wounded over 30, according to police officials.
This violence has coincided with a further escalation between Islamabad and Kabul.
Pakistan stated on Thursday that it had conducted airstrikes against 10 locations in Afghanistan used to launch and store drones, following the detection and neutralization of drones launched from Afghan territory the previous day. Kabul reported that four civilians were killed in the Pakistani strikes.
Days earlier, Pakistan stated that separate airstrikes in Afghanistan had killed 28 militants. Afghan authorities reported that three civilians were killed in those strikes, a toll confirmed by the United Nations.
Relations between the two countries have deteriorated sharply since October 2025, when Pakistani and Afghan forces engaged in their deadliest border clashes since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021.
A temporary ceasefire and subsequent mediation efforts failed to resolve the underlying dispute over militant sanctuaries, and sporadic fighting and Pakistani strikes inside Afghanistan have continued since then.
Pakistan’s information ministry called on Kabul to take “credible and verifiable action” against militant groups operating from Afghan territory.
The Taliban government in Afghanistan has consistently rejected Pakistan’s allegations that it provides sanctuary to anti-Pakistan militants.
With input from AP.