Taliban Reject Pakistan’s Claims of Afghan Involvement in Attack on Chinese Engineers

The Ministry of National Defence of Afghanistan, under Taliban administration, vehemently denied Pakistan’s allegations on Wednesday that Afghan nationals were behind the recent attack on Chinese engineers in Pakistan. The denial comes amidst escalating tensions between the two neighboring countries.

During a press conference on Tuesday, the Pakistani military claimed that the suicide bombing in March, which resulted in the deaths of five Chinese engineers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, was orchestrated in Afghanistan by an Afghan assailant.

Afghanistan’s spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defence, Mufti Enayatullah Khorazmim, responded, stating, “Afghans are not involved in such matters. Blaming Afghanistan for such incidents is a failed attempt to divert attention from the truth of the matter and we strongly reject it.”

The attack involved a suicide bomber driving a vehicle into a convoy of Chinese engineers who were part of a dam project in northwest Pakistan, leading to six fatalities. The security of this region was notably under the strict surveillance of the Pakistani army.

Khorazmim criticized the security measures in Pakistan, pointing out the vulnerability of Pakistani security agencies as evidenced by the attack in a tightly secured area.

Relations between Islamabad and Kabul have significantly deteriorated recently, with Pakistan accusing the Taliban-led government of not doing enough to prevent militant activities across its borders. In retaliation, Pakistan conducted airstrikes in March targeting militant hideouts within Afghan territory.

Furthermore, Pakistan took a harsh step last year by expelling nearly 370,000 undocumented Afghan nationals, citing their alleged involvement in multiple suicide attacks against Pakistani security forces, an accusation that Kabul has dismissed.

Amidst the friction, Pakistan’s military emphasized their commitment to securing the 29,000 Chinese nationals working in the country, mostly on various infrastructure projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – a project in which Afghanistan has expressed interest in participating.

The Taliban are concurrently seeking to strengthen economic relations with China, which was the first nation to send an ambassador to Kabul following the Taliban’s takeover.

This ongoing conflict underscores the complex geopolitical tensions in the region, influencing international relations and security dynamics significantly.