As Afghanistan continues to document cross-border militant infiltration backed by Pakistan's security agencies, the Taliban government has once again publicly condemned Islamabad for destabilising Afghan territory — with a new report shedding fresh light on the pattern of state-sponsored militancy that has drawn condemnation from multiple countries.

Taliban Kills 41, Captures 62 in Pakistan-Linked Militant Operation

Taliban forces recently killed 41 terrorists and captured 62 others in Nuristan province, according to a report by Kathmandu-based outlet Hamrakura. The militants were linked to ISIS-affiliated groups and reportedly backed by Pakistani authorities. Afghanistan's Defence Ministry stated that the terrorists attempted to infiltrate Afghan territory with the 'direct guidance and cooperation' of the Pakistani military — a characterisation that marks a sharp escalation in Kabul's public accusations against Islamabad.

Neighbours and Western Nations Raise the Same Alarm

Afghanistan is not alone in its accusations. India has for years blamed Pakistan for cross-border terrorism — for infiltrating militants into Jammu and Kashmir and facilitating bomb blasts and killings across Indian territory. New Delhi has repeatedly presented what it describes as concrete evidence of Pakistani state actors' involvement. Following the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir in April last year, India carried out airstrikes targeting terror infrastructure inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Iran has similarly accused Pakistan of supporting anti-Iranian militant groups that have conducted cross-border attacks. Tehran has also specifically named Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) as a backer of these militants.

At the global level, investigations have reportedly drawn connections between terrorist attacks in Europe and Pakistan-based outfits. The European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) has on record documented a 'strong' link between the ISI and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), according to the Hamrakura report.

US Had Previously Labelled Haqqani Network a Pakistani 'Arm'

The United States has also, in the past, accused Pakistan of permitting the Haqqani Network, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) to conduct attacks while American troops were deployed in Afghanistan. The then-US Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen stated plainly: 'The Haqqani network, for one, acts as a veritable arm of Pakistan's intelligence.'

A Strategic Instrument That Turned Inward

The Hamrakura report offered a pointed analysis of the long-term consequences of Pakistan's militant policy: 'It is ironic that Pakistan has faced allegations of infiltrating militants into Afghanistan, which it called a source of terrorism earlier. The government in Pakistan set up a terrorism ecosystem as a strategic instrument against neighbours. However, the very militancy ecosystem turned against Pakistan itself.'

The report further noted that 'the institutionalisation of militant networks as an instrument of security policy has made Pakistan a source and exporter of terrorism and cross-border infiltration' — a charge that finds resonance across Kabul, New Delhi, Tehran, and Western capitals alike.

Whether Islamabad will face coordinated multilateral pressure over its militant networks — or whether each affected country continues to act unilaterally — will shape the region's security calculus in the months ahead.