Pakistan's legitimate security concerns cannot be dismissed through blanket denials repeatedly made by the Afghan Taliban regime, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said in a statement on Saturday, APP reported. The ministry said Kabul had once again 'resorted to diversionary allegations instead of addressing Pakistan's legitimate and longstanding security concerns', and that credible explanations and verifiable action were required instead.

Source: APP, Oct 24, 2026

'Pakistan's concerns are not based on conjecture,' the ministry said, citing the 16th report (S/2025/796) of the UN Security Council's Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, which examined the presence and activities of terrorist groups in Afghanistan, APP and the Islamabad Post reported. It also cited the US Lead Inspector General's Operation Enduring Sentinel report to Congress for January-March 2026, which, according to the ministry, stated that the Afghan Taliban continued to allow Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to operate from Afghan territory and that Taliban support and greater freedom for the group contributed to increased attacks against Pakistan. The report estimated TTP strength at 4,000 to 6,000 fighters, the ministry said.

Source: Islamabad Post, Oct 24, 2026

The ministry said the assertion that Afghanistan lacks either the capacity or the interest to destabilise Pakistan did not address those documented concerns, APP reported. It pointed, as Pakistan's account, to repeated attempts by armed men to infiltrate across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the killing of Afghan nationals and members of terrorist groups during Pakistan's counter-terrorism operations, and the recovery of foreign-origin weapons. Pakistan has also raised concerns over alleged facilitation of terrorist groups by Afghan Taliban officials, including officials in Kandahar — an allegation, not an independently established finding in Saturday's statement.

Source: APP, Oct 24, 2026

Islamabad called on the Afghan Taliban regime to end any tolerance, facilitation or support for terrorist organisations, including the TTP, the Baluchistan Liberation Army (BLA) and their affiliates, and to ensure Afghan territory is not used to plan, prepare or launch attacks against Pakistan, APP and the Daily The Destination reported. The ministry stressed that Pakistan's security measures were directed against terrorist threats, not the Afghan people, and that peace and stability in both countries were closely linked.

Source: Daily The Destination, Oct 24, 2026

'Attempts to portray Pakistan's legitimate security concerns and necessary defensive measures as hostility towards Afghanistan will neither deflect attention from the issue nor resolve it,' the ministry said, adding that Pakistan would continue to take all necessary measures to protect its citizens, sovereignty and territorial integrity. Pakistan remained open to responsible engagement based on mutual respect, verifiable commitments and concrete action against terrorist sanctuaries, support networks and cross-border infiltration, it said. The Afghan Taliban have previously denied allowing Afghan territory to be used against Pakistan; no Kabul response to Saturday's specific statement was included in the reports cited here. Sources: APP reporting the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting statement; Islamabad Post; Daily The Destination.

Source: APP, Oct 24, 2026