Mullah Shirin, the Taliban's governor in Kandahar, has strongly denied recent statements by a Pakistani army spokesman alleging that he hosted a meeting with foreign fighters in Afghanistan. He called the claims "baseless."
The press office of the Taliban governor in Kandahar released a statement on Friday, October 2nd, declaring, "Afghanistan has no need to send invitations to foreign fighters or to hold meetings with them."
This was a response to remarks made by Sharif Chaudhry, the spokesman for the Pakistani army. On Thursday, Chaudhry had claimed at a press conference that Mullah Shirin hosted a meeting about a month ago, on August 25th, with representatives of Baloch militants, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and al-Qaeda.
The Kandahar governor's office statement added, "Pakistani military circles are trying to justify their killing of civilians in Afghanistan and their other crimes with such baseless claims." The statement portrayed Pakistan's allegation as an attempt to divert public opinion from its own actions.
The Pakistani army spokesman had insisted that the meeting was attended by representatives of the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), and the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, a senior TTP commander.
Mullah Shirin is known as a close associate of the Taliban's supreme leader, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, and Kandahar is considered the group's main power base. This accusation by Pakistan against a key Taliban figure highlights the deep mistrust between the two sides.
Tensions between the Taliban government and Pakistan have escalated sharply in recent months over the presence and activities of anti-Islamabad militant groups on Afghan soil, particularly the TTP. Pakistan accuses the Taliban of failing to act against these groups, but the Taliban have consistently denied these charges.
Source: Press office of the Taliban governor in Kandahar
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