Shehbaz Presses Kabul to Stop Terror Groups Targeting Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif renewed Pakistan’s demand on Friday for Afghanistan’s interim authorities to prevent militant organisations from using Afghan territory to launch attacks across the border. Addressing the National Workshop on Balochistan in Islamabad, he placed cross-border terrorism among the country’s most pressing security challenges.

The prime minister said Pakistan shares a frontier of more than 2,600 kilometres with Afghanistan and has repeatedly asked Kabul to take effective action against armed groups operating from its soil. He argued that the response from the Afghan administration had remained inadequate despite sustained diplomatic engagement and repeated warnings from Islamabad.

Shehbaz also linked the renewed wave of militancy to a broader campaign aimed at destabilising Pakistan. He said terrorism had been substantially contained by 2017 and 2018 but later returned through what he described as an organised conspiracy. The premier further accused India of financing violent activity inside Pakistan, an allegation New Delhi has previously rejected in similar contexts.

During his remarks, the prime minister expressed grief over the killing of Mastung Judge Abdul Hakeem Kakar and a security official. He offered condolences to their families and said the state remained committed to confronting groups responsible for attacks on public servants, security personnel and civilians.

Alongside the security message, Shehbaz announced major development measures for Balochistan. He said a Rs300 billion dual carriageway linking Karachi with Chaman would be completed within two years, presenting the project as an important step towards improving transport, trade and regional connectivity in the province.

The prime minister said Punjab had contributed Rs150 billion to Balochistan through the National Finance Commission framework and urged other provinces to fulfil their responsibilities as well. He maintained that national progress would remain incomplete unless every province benefited from improved infrastructure, education and public services.

Further measures include an additional 10 per cent quota for Balochistan in federal laptop and scholarship programmes and accelerated work on the Kachhi Canal project. Shehbaz also highlighted a Rs75 billion initiative to convert about 27,000 agricultural tube wells to solar power, with the federal government contributing Rs50 billion to the scheme.

Later, the prime minister inaugurated the Sky47 artificial intelligence and cloud computing facility in the federal capital. He described the project as evidence of Pakistan’s growing technological capacity and praised the engineers, institutions and officials involved, including the Ministry of Information Technology and strategic technology partner ZTE. Field Marshal Asim Munir, federal ministers and senior officials attended the ceremony.

The government’s announcements connect security policy with economic development, particularly in border regions where weak infrastructure and limited opportunities can deepen public frustration. Improved roads, irrigation, education access and affordable energy could strengthen economic activity in Balochistan, but their impact will depend on timely execution, transparent spending and sustained coordination between federal and provincial authorities.

Pakistan is expected to continue pressing Kabul through diplomatic and regional forums while maintaining security operations against militant networks at home. The next phase will test whether Afghanistan’s interim administration responds to Islamabad’s demands and whether the development projects announced for Balochistan move from political commitments to measurable progress.