Pakistan's Affinity towards Terrorists Continuous as it Offers Asylum to Afghan Taliban Leader

By siliconindia | Wednesday, 12 October 2016, 06:27 Hrs

BENGALURU: Recent reports from Reuters suggest that Hibatullah Akhundzada, leader of Afghan Taliban lived in Pakistan for fifteen years until he suddenly disappeared in May. Reports also reveal that Akhundzada openly taught and preached at the Al Haaj mosque in Kuchlak––a small town situated in the southwestern part of Pakistan. Further details of the leader were not previously revealed to reduce the pressure of tracking down terrorists living in the terror-sponsoring country––Pakistan. As a proved evidence, no written records or known photographs of Akhundzada's stay in Kuchlak were found.

Hafiz Abdul Majeed, caretaker of the Al Haaj mosque and also a former student of Akhundzada stated that, "Once he became Emir, he left with his whole family. You can't teach religion and run (the Taliban) government at the same time."

When asked about Akhundzada's stay in Kuchlak, the Interior Ministry of Pakistan failed to respond. Furthermore, the army refused to make any comment on the matter.

After staying unnoticed in Kulchak, it is believed that Akhundzada crossed the Afghan-Pak border is currently hiding somewhere. Soon after the predecessor–Mullah Akhtar Mansour got killed in a US drone, Hibatullah Akhundzada was titled as an ‘emir’.

Balochistan Home Minister claimed that Pakistan made strenuous efforts to restrict militants from crossing the international border. This effort also includes stopping Taliban fighters travelling with fake Pakistani documents. The minister said that keeping a track of almost 4 million Afghan refugees is a difficult task.

Considering the state of terrorism in Pakistan, the Western diplomats claim that some Islamic seminaries have been the breeding grounds for Islamist militancy. However, Pakistan, as always, completely denies Taliban’s open operations.