KABUL // Afghanistan’s president on Monday called on Pakistan to battle the Taliban rather than try to bring them into peace talks.
Ashraf Ghani made the remarks during an address to parliament a week after a Taliban assault on Kabul which killed 64 people and wounded 340.
Afghan officials have long accused Pakistan of turning a blind eye to the Taliban, the leadership of which is widely believed to be based in the Pakistani cities of Quetta and Peshawar, near the border.
Mr Ghani said there are “no good or bad terrorists, they are just terrorists”, and that “Pakistan must understand that and act against them”.
Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the United States have been trying to revive peace talks between Kabul and the Taliban in recent months, but have made little progress.
“We don’t expect Pakistan to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table,” Mr Ghani said. “What we want is for Pakistan, based on the four nations’ agreement, to keep its promises and launch military operations against insurgents.”
Islamabad has denied past allegations that it aids the Taliban and said its influence over the group has been overstated.
Pakistan has been waging a military offensive against militants in the North Waziristan tribal region since 2014, but critics have long accused the country of fighting its own insurgents while covertly supporting groups that attack Afghanistan and India.
* Associated Press
