"Afghans Not Involved, Inadequacy Of Pakistani Security Agencies": Taliban Refutes Allegations Of Attacking Chinese Engineers

On Wednesday (8 May), the Taliban's defence ministry refuted Pakistan's accusations that Afghans were involved in an attack on Chinese engineers, further straining relations between the two neighbouring nations amidst escalating insecurity, as per a report by The Hindu.

Pakistan's military had claimed during a press conference on Tuesday that a suicide bombing in March in Pakistan's northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which resulted in the deaths of five Chinese engineers, was orchestrated from Afghanistan, with the bomber being an Afghan national.

Mufti Enayatullah Khorazmim, spokesperson for Afghanistan's Taliban-led Ministry of National Defence, stated, "Afghans are not involved in such activities," rejecting the allegations.

"Pinning the blame on Afghanistan for such incidents is an unsuccessful attempt to divert attention from the actual facts, and we strongly dismiss it," he added.

In March, a suicide bomber targeted a convoy of Chinese engineers working on a dam project in northwest Pakistan, resulting in six casualties.

Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have escalated recently, with Islamabad accusing Kabul of not taking sufficient action against militant groups targeting Pakistan. In March, Pakistan conducted airstrikes targeting militants on Afghan soil.

Last year, Pakistan expelled nearly 370,000 undocumented Afghan nationals, citing that the majority of suicide attacks against its security forces were carried out by Afghans, a claim rejected by Kabul.

A military spokesperson for Pakistan stated on Tuesday that ensuring the security of 29,000 Chinese nationals in Pakistan, many of whom are involved in infrastructure projects, is a top priority for security institutions.

The Taliban are also interested in establishing economic ties with China. China was the first country to appoint an ambassador to Kabul under the Taliban regime, and the Taliban are keen on participating in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a $65 billion investment by Beijing in development and infrastructure.