Taliban says US drones entering from neighbouring region still patrolling Afghanistan skies

Kabul: Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has said that US drones continue to patrol the skies of Afghanistan, entering from the airspace of “some neighbouring countries”, and violating Afghanistan’s sovereignty.

Afghan media on Saturday extensively reported Zabihullah Mujahid’s interview given to the Iranian state broadcaster IRIB where he repeated the Taliban’s call for the drone flights to end, saying they must be stopped “as soon as possible” while describing them as a breach of Afghanistan’s airspace. He said that Taliban authorities have raised their objections in the limited meetings available to them.

“Mujahid did not specify which neighbouring country’s airspace the drones reportedly crossed before entering Afghanistan, although he has previously accused Pakistan of providing access to US aircraft. Mujahid said the Taliban had implemented 70 per cent of their programmes during their four years in power. He cited sanctions on Taliban leaders, travel restrictions and the absence of international recognition as the administration’s main challenges,” ‘Afghanistan International’ reported.

During the interview, Mujahid said the Taliban were pursuing a “balanced, economy-focused” foreign policy and sought relations with all countries, including the United States, provided Afghanistan’s sovereignty was respected.

“Asked whether US forces could return to Afghanistan, he said the Taliban would never allow even an inch of Afghan territory to fall under foreign control and insisted no foreign troops would be permitted on Afghan soil. He also denied reports of a Chinese presence at Bagram air base, saying neither US nor Chinese forces had returned and that the Taliban would not allow any country to establish a military base in Afghanistan,” ‘Afghanistan International’ reported.

Last week, Zabihullah Mujahid had voiced Taliban’s concerns over Pakistan again breaking the ceasefire by opening fire in Spin Boldak, just a day ahead of the third round of peace talks in Istanbul.

“While the third round of negotiations with the Pakistani side has begun in Istanbul, unfortunately, this afternoon Pakistani forces once again opened fire on Spin Boldak, causing concern among the local population,” he posted on X.

A ceasefire was agreed between the two sides on October 15, which had been extended during the following rounds of talks held in Doha and Istanbul.

IANS