As the ISI head visited rebel leader mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar in Kabul as part of attempts to create a stable government, the Taliban issued a statement declaring that no nation, including Pakistan, will intervene in Afghanistan’s domestic affairs. Questions were raised last week after Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Lt Gen Hameed hurried to Kabul on an unannounced visit, prompting speculation that ISI was intervening in Afghanistan’s domestic affairs.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told Afghanistan’s Khaama news agency that the group will not allow Pakistan to intervene in Afghan affairs. Lieutenant General Hameed was the first senior foreign official to visit Afghanistan since the Taliban took control of the city in mid-August. Mujahid stated that the ISI head met with Mullah Baradar on his visit to Kabul during a news conference in Kabul on Monday, according to BBC Urdu.
The Taliban has guaranteed Islamabad that Afghan soil would not be used against Pakistan, he claims. Earlier, Pakistani media reported that the Taliban had invited a delegation of top officials led by Lt Gen Hameed to visit Kabul, but the Taliban claimed that Islamabad had suggested his visit. According to the Taliban, Pakistan’s espionage head went to Afghanistan on Sunday to strengthen bilateral relations between Kabul and Islamabad. The Taliban commanders discussed bilateral ties and the concerns of Afghan travellers at the Torkham and Spin Boldak passes between Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to Ahmadullah Wasiq, deputy chairman of the Taliban’s Cultural Commission.
‘This Pakistani officer has arrived in Torkham and Spin Boldak to help Afghan travellers with their difficulties at the border. We agreed to (his travel to Kabul) because they desired it’, Wasiq said. Due to security concerns, Pakistan temporarily closed the Chaman border crossing, which is the second-largest commercial border crossing with Afghanistan after the Torkham commercial centre in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Mujahid stated during his news conference that a recent delegation to Kabul reported that the borders had been blocked owing to security concerns related to the release of detainees within Afghanistan, and that individuals wanting to enter or leave the country had been subjected to checks.
According to the sources, Pakistan’s intelligence head met with Hizb-e-Islami party leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and reviewed the present situation in the nation. Lt Gen Hameed was seen in a brief video footage leaked in the media last week attempting to reply to questions from a journalist who first asked: ‘Will you be seeing key Taliban figures? No, I’m not clear…’ the ISI head responded, turning to the Pakistan envoy to Kabul, Mansour Ahmad Khan, who was standing at his side, for an answer.
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‘Don’t worry, everything will be OK,’ Hameed answered in response to another query. Hameed’s arrival to Afghanistan coincided with increasing international pressure on the Taliban to create a multi-party administration that is acceptable to the international world. The insurgents are attempting to form a broad-based and inclusive government that will be acceptable to the world community. It was the first high-level visit to Afghanistan by a Pakistani official since the Taliban took control of Kabul on August 15, surprising both adversaries and friends. The Taliban have been attempting to create a government since then, but have yet to make an announcement. The Afghan government has accused Pakistan of providing military support to the Taliban, which Islamabad denies.
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