Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of giving state patronage to militants in breach of Doha Accord

Chief Minister of Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, Sarfraz Bugti, on Thursday accused Afghanistan of providing “state patronage” to terrorists and failing to honor its commitments under the Doha Accord, saying militants based there continue to launch attacks on Pakistani soil.

The Doha Agreement, signed in February 2020 between the United States and the Taliban, laid out a framework for the withdrawal of U.S. and allied forces from Afghanistan in exchange for security guarantees from the Taliban.

A key pledge made by the Taliban under the accord was that Afghan soil would not be used by any group or individual to threaten the security of the United States or its allies, including commitments to prevent terrorist organizations such as Al Qaeda from operating or launching attacks from Afghanistan.

“You see many terrorists we killed recently were residents of Afghanistan,” Bugti told a press conference. He said he repeatedly reminded the Afghan interim government that by signing the Doha Agreement, it was obliged to prevent groups from using Afghan soil to stage attacks on other countries, including Pakistan.

The chief minister said that militants continue to enjoy “safe havens” and operate training camps in Afghanistan.

Detailing a recent operation, Bugti said security forces acted on sensitive intelligence in Chagai recently, surrounding a house where militants were hiding. “As soon as the security forces moved in, the militants opened fire,” he said, adding that the gun battle lasted two hours.

He confirmed that during the operation, militant Jahanzeb was arrested after surrendering, while another, identified as Zubair, was killed. Bugti said both men were affiliated with the militant group Baloch Raaji Aajoi Sangar (BRAS) and had been monitoring Frontier Corps (FC) headquarters as well as Chinese movement in the province.

A video confession by Jahanzeb was played during the press conference. Bugti added that militants often shoot themselves at the time of arrest and destroy their mobile phones to prevent security forces from extracting information.

The chief minister also accused India’s intelligence agency, RAW, of sponsoring terrorism in Pakistan. He referred to what he called “Fitna Al-Hindustan,” saying that India-backed militants are targeting Balochistan to exploit existing vulnerabilities and weaken the country.

Bugti stressed that those who take up arms seek to break Pakistan apart. He rejected attempts to link militancy solely to disgruntled Baloch or human rights grievances.

“Many Baloch come to the streets to protest, but the law does not allow them to block roads,” he said, while also underlining that militants exploit every type of media to spread their message.