Taliban administration denies Kabul’s involvement in Pakistani train attack

​​​​​​​ISTANBUL

The Taliban administration in Afghanistan denied on Thursday Kabul’s involvement in a terror attack on a passenger train that killed at least 25 people in Pakistan’s Balochistan province.

Foreign Ministry spokesman of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Abdul Qahar Balkhi, said that Kabul denies the “baseless allegations by Pakistani army spokesman linking the attack on a passenger train in Balochistan province with Afghanistan.”

Balkhi urged Pakistan to concentrate on addressing its security and domestic issues, instead of making “such irresponsible remarks.”

“No members of the Balouch opposition have a presence in Afghanistan nor have they ever had, nor have, any links with the Islamic Emirate,” he wrote on X.

“We are saddened by the loss of life of innocents in the incident. Sacrificing civilians for political objectives is unjustifiable,” he added.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan said Thursday that the terrorists responsible for the attack o were related to Afghanistan.

“Terrorists were in direct communications with Afghanistan-based planners throughout the incident,” Khan said at a media briefing in Islamabad. “The latest terrorist attack against Jaffar Express near Sibi Balochistan was also orchestrated and directed by terrorist ring leaders operating from abroad.”

He urged Afghanistan’s interim government to hold the “perpetrators, organizers, financiers” of the attack responsible and collaborate with Pakistan to stand against terrorism.

“Pakistan has repeatedly asked the interim Afghan government to deny the use of its soil for terrorist groups like Balochistan Liberation Army for their attacks against Pakistan,” he said.