Taliban rebut Kazai’s allegations against Pakistan
'Pakistan Times' Monitoring Desk

SPIN BOLDAK (Afghanistan): The Taliban on Saturday denied accusations by Afghan leaders the group was being sponsored by Pakistan, an issue souring relations between the two nations.

A senior Taliban commander, Hayat Khan said that Afghan President Hamid Karzai was trying to hide his own failure and the Taliban movement lived only on the support of ordinary people.

“Karzai’s allegations are baseless. We neither have any links with Pakistan nor is the country helping the Taliban,” Khan said to a British news agency by satellite phone from a secret location.

“The Taliban movement is continuing only with the support of the Afghan people.

“Instead of shedding crocodile tears, Hamid Karzai should resign and join the Taliban ranks for Jihad against the infidel occupiers to liberate Afghanistan,” he added.

Meanwhile, a Taliban spokesman said Pakistan was also their enemy as it was a key US ally.

“I strongly dismiss Karzai’s claims that Taliban are being supported by Pakistan,” Mohammad Hanif told the French news agency by telephone from an undisclosed location. “Pakistan itself is our enemy, because it is America’s friend and helped topple Taliban government.”

Hanif emphasised that the Taliban movement was “purely a national resistance” and the Afghan nation was behind it. He vowed that they would continue their struggle until “the invading forces are ousted and Karzai’s regime is toppled”.

Karzai accused the Pakistan on Wednesday of trying to turn his countrymen into “slaves”, in his strongest words yet blaming Islamabad for its part in a wave of violence.

Pakistan hit back by saying the roots of the problem were in Afghanistan and that Islamabad was doing all it could to counter militancy.●