Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has said that attacks on Pakistan are being planned from Afghanistan and urged the Taliban to stop patronising terrorist groups.

Addressing a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Contact Group on Afghanistan, Dar said the situation in Afghanistan was affecting regional peace and security.

He said August 2021 was a decisive turning point for Afghanistan and noted that Pakistan was the first country to open its doors to the Afghan people. He also recalled that Pakistan hosted the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in December 2021.

Dar said there had been hopes that the Taliban would end terrorism and promote greater political inclusion. However, he said the international community’s expectations regarding Afghanistan had not been fulfilled.

He urged the Taliban to take concrete steps to prevent terrorism and said attacks on Pakistan were being planned from Afghanistan. He also called on the Taliban to stop patronising terrorist groups, alleging that the attacks had external backing.

According to Dar, more than two dozen terrorist groups are operating in Afghanistan and pose a threat to regional and global peace. He said Pakistani institutions had made major sacrifices in the fight against terrorism, referring to the attack on a mosque in Kohat in which 24 people were killed.

The deputy prime minister urged the OIC to press the Taliban to end terrorism and ensure that Afghan territory was not used against neighbouring countries.

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Dar also called on the Taliban to honour their international obligations and commitments and review policies that deny basic freedoms to ordinary citizens.

He said the Afghan people had already suffered the consequences of civil war and conflict and urged the Taliban to pursue an inclusive political process involving all ethnic groups and minorities.

He also called for facilitating the return and resettlement of Afghan citizens and urged the international community to share the burden.

Dar said Pakistan was deeply interested in peace and stability in Afghanistan and had been among the countries most affected by instability there.

He reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to supporting a stable and prosperous Afghanistan, saying that mutual respect and political commitment from the Taliban were essential to achieving that goal.