KABUL - President Ashraf Ghani has categorically told the Pakistan’s spymaster that Afghanistan would not trust the neighbour until it takes action against the Taliban and other terrorist groups.
A well-placed government source confided to Pajhwok Afghan News Afghanistan handed ISI chief, Naveed Mukhtar, enough evidence of the presence of Taliban and other rebel insurgents in Pakistan.
During his day-long visit to Kabul on Tuesday, the Inter-Services Intelligence chief met several Afghan officials, including President Ghani.
The source revealed Ghani told the ISI chief he could not trust Pakistan until it adopted practical steps to meet Afghanistan’s longstanding demands to rein in terrorists on its soil who conducted incursions in the war-torn country.
The president shared with Mukhtar concrete evidence about Kandahar bombing that killed UAE diplomats and a number of Afghans, the attack on the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF) and the recent assault on the military base in Balkh province.
According to the official, who did not want to be named, Taliban leader Maulvi Ahmad Kandahari has been training suicide bombers in a military base in Quetta. Pakistan should hand over the Taliban leader to the Afghan government, he said.
The Afghan government also asked for action against the 84 Taliban leaders, whose list has already been provided to Pakistani authorities.
Mukhtar was categorically told that relations between the two countries would not improve until Pakistan handed over the individuals involved in the recent attacks to Afghanistan, the source said.
The official added the president also shared with the ISI chief evidence of Pakistan-based Taliban leaders instructing fighters in Afghanistan over the telephone on how to conduct attacks as part of Operation Mansouri.
Ghani informed the visiting spymaster that the Taliban leaders were living in Quetta, Karachi, Peshawar and North Waziristan Agency, bordering Afghanistan. Facilitated by ISI, they held consultative meetings in Pakistan, he claimed. (Pajhwok)