Taliban regime accuses Pakistan of letting US drones use its airspace
An American drone equipped with Hellfire missiles at an air base in Iraq (illustrative image).
AP - 1st Lt. Jason Sweeney
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
The Taliban Defense Minister on Sunday accused Pakistan of letting American drones use Pakistani airspace to penetrate Afghan skies.
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The Taliban defense minister's accusation comes nearly a month after President Joe Biden announced
the death in Kabul of Ayman al-Zawahiri,
the leader of al-Qaeda, by a US drone strike .
According to Mohammed Yaqoub, American drones currently continue to be seen over Kabul, entering Afghan airspace from Pakistan.
“
Our information indicates that they (American drones) are entering Afghanistan from Pakistan and using Pakistani airspace
,” Mohammed Yaqoub said at a press conference in Kabul.
"
We call on Pakistan not to use its airspace against us
," he added.
The Pakistani military was not immediately available for comment on the minister's remarks, but after Zawahiri's death, Islamabad denied allowing the Americans to use Pakistani airspace.
The deployment of American drones in the Afghan sky is "
always a clear invasion of Afghanistan and its airspace by the Americans
", said Mohammed Yaqoub.
“
They do it shamelessly.
We condemn this illegal act and demand that the Americans put an end to
it,” he added.
Border tensions
The United States overthrew the first Taliban government in 2001 after Islamist fundamentalists refused to hand over the founder of Al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, following the September 11 attacks.
The Taliban have always indicated that they have no information on the presence in Kabul of Zawahiri, and that they are conducting an investigation.
The death of the leader of Al-Qaeda "
is a claim of the Americans which is the subject of an investigation, we do not have more details on this subject until the investigation is completed
", repeated Sunday Mohammed Yaqoub.
Since Islamist fundamentalists came to power in Kabul,
border tensions with Pakistan
have increased, with Islamabad claiming that armed groups carry out regular attacks into Pakistan from Afghan territory, which the Taliban deny.
Ties between the two countries were further strained when Pakistani military airstrikes in eastern Afghanistan killed and injured dozens of people in April.
(
With
AFP)
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Afghanistan
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