Over 10K jihadis entered Afghanistan; Ashraf Ghani slams PAK at Uzbekistan summit [details]

At the high-powered conference in Tashkent in Uzbekistan, Afghan president Ashraf Ghani launched a tirade against Pakistan over its relationship with terror groups, and specifically its failure to prevent foreign terrorists sneaking into Afghanistan. In his address on Friday, Ghani slammed Pakistan for not doing nearly enough to pressure Taliban to participate in the peace talks and prevent the movement of "jihadi" fights across the border.

Ghani said that intelligence revealed over 10,000 jihadi fighters from Pakistan and other places crossed into Afghanistan in the last month alone.

"Contrary to repeated assurances by Prime Minister Khan and his generals that Pakistan does not find a Taliban takeover in Afghanistan in Pakistan's interest and short of use of force, will use its power to influence to make the Taliban negotiate seriously, networks and organisations supporting the Taliban are openly celebrating the destruction of the assets and capabilities of the Afghan people and state," he said.

Indian External Affairs S. Jaishankar, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and 250 other delegates from the 40 countries were in attendance as Afghan President Ashraf Ghani delivered his hard-hitting speech.

Ghani further sought a political pathway to "walk back the Taliban and their supporters from the brink of descent to hell." and called upon Pakistan to "be engaged coherently and urgently from the perspective of regional interest."

Taliban, Al-Qaeda and PAK

The evident frustration expressed by Ghani comes on the heels of reports about Taliban's links with Al-Qaeda and being active in Pakistan. Afghan Taliban and their local associates are active in Pakistan's border regions, sources told VOA as Pakistan has acknowledged that bodies of terrorists killed in Afghanistan arrive in Pakistan, and wounded Taliban are treated in local hospitals.

Locals and eyewitnesses on the ground with knowledge of Taliban activities in Pakistan have confirmed to VOA that the terrorists enjoy sanctuaries in Pashtun areas of Balochistan province. The Afghan government and the US have long blamed Pakistan for not acting against the Afghan Taliban's sanctuaries in Pakistan.

Pakistani officials had repeatedly denied the presence of the Taliban sanctuaries in Pakistan. However, in an interview with local Afghan TV last month, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi blamed the porous border and millions of Afghans living in Pakistan for the presence of the Taliban in the country.

(With additional agency inputs)