Taliban Accused Pakistan Allowing United States Unmanned Aircrafts To Use Their Airspace

U.S. MQ-9 drone illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/US Air Force)

JAKARTA - Taliban authorities have accused Pakistan of allowing US drones to use their airspace to access Afghanistan, which Islamabad denies.

Pakistan has previously denied involvement or knowledge of a US drone strike, which it said killed Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul in July.

Afghanistan's acting Defense Minister Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob said at a news conference in Kabul that US drones had entered Afghanistan via Pakistan.

"According to our information that drones entered through Pakistan into Afghanistan, using Pakistani airspace, we ask Pakistan not to use your airspace against us," he said.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari told Reuters he had carried out an investigation after the airstrikes and was notified that Pakistan's airspace was not being used.

He said he would examine the matter again after Sunday's allegations, but expected his position to be the same as before.

"I really can't believe that this is the moment I want to argue with anyone or accuse. Frankly, I'm focused on flood aid efforts," Bhutto-Zardari said in an interview, referring to the deadly flood in Pakistan which has left millions of people homeless.

"Afghan regimes have pledged not only to its own people, but to the international community, that they will not allow their lands to be used for terrorists," he said.

Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement saying it recorded Yaqoob's comments with 'deep concern'.

"With no evidence, as acknowledged by the Minister of Afghanistan himself, such allegations are regrettable and contrary to the norms of responsible diplomatic conduct," the statement read.

The Taliban said they were investigating an air strike in July and that they were not yet 'knowing' the body of the Al Qaeda leader.

Yaqoob's comments could exacerbate tensions between Afghanistan and its neighbors, at a time when the Afghan Taliban mediated talks between Pakistan and the Pakistani Taliban militant group.

Afghanistan, which is experiencing an acute economic crisis, is also heavily dependent on trading with Pakistan.

Separately, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Taliban "strongly violated" the 2020 agreement on withdrawing US-led troops from Afghanistan by hosting and protecting Zawahiri.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the US Central Intelligence Agency declined to comment.