Pakistan Says Afghanistan Asked for PKR 10 Billion to Host Militants, Defence Minister Tells Parliament
IslamabadPakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told the National Assembly on Thursday that Afghan authorities had once asked Islamabad for PKR 10 billion to relocate people Pakistan considers involved in cross-border militancy into western Afghanistan — an offer Pakistan rejected because Kabul would not guarantee they would not return. Asif, describing a visit to Kabul…
Islamabad
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told the National Assembly on Thursday that Afghan authorities had once asked Islamabad for PKR 10 billion to relocate people Pakistan considers involved in cross-border militancy into western Afghanistan — an offer Pakistan rejected because Kabul would not guarantee they would not return.
Asif, describing a visit to Kabul three years ago in which he was accompanied by the then-DG ISI and a senior diplomat, said Pakistani officials had urged Afghan leaders to “control” some 6,000–7,000 suspected militants who, he alleged, used Afghan soil to mount attacks inside Pakistan. He said Afghan interlocutors replied that they could settle those fighters in western provinces if Pakistan paid PKR 10 billion, but that Kabul would not provide the assurances Islamabad demanded.
The defence minister warned that Pakistan’s patience was “running out” and proposed sending a delegation to Kabul within days to press the Afghan rulers to stop cross-border attacks. He accused some long-resident Afghans in Pakistan of failing to condemn violence and said those sheltering militants would be held to account — remarks that underline rising tensions between Islamabad and Kabul over security along the porous border.
Several Pakistani outlets covering Asif’s speech noted his broader appeal for national unity in the face of continuing attacks and his praise for the armed forces’ sacrifices. He also reiterated that those who attack Pakistani security forces would be pursued and that collateral damage may occur in such operations, language likely to alarm rights groups and Afghan authorities alike.
Kabul has in the past denied similar claims that it sought payments to relocate militants; Taliban spokesmen previously rejected assertions that they had demanded funds from Pakistan to move Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) fighters. That dispute — Pakistan’s accusations and Afghan denials — has been a recurring flashpoint in bilateral relations.
