10,000 jihadi fighters have entered from Pak: Afghan President

People walk towards a border crossing point in Chaman. Pic/AFP

In a hard-hitting speech, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said more than 10,000 jihadi fighters entered the country from Pakistan in the last month, while Islamabad had failed to convince the Taliban to participate "seriously" in the peace talks.

Ghani made the remarks on Friday while addressing the Central and South Asia connectivity conference held in Tashkent, with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan also in attendance.

"Contrary to repeated assurances by Prime Minister Khan and his generals that Pakistan does not find a Taliban takeover in Afghanistan in Pakistan's interest and fell short of use of force and its power and influence to make the Taliban negotiate seriously, networks and organisations supporting the Taliban are openly celebrating the destruction of the assets and capabilities of the Afghan people and State," Ghani said.

The President said that Afghanistan was ready to counter the Taliban and their supporters as long as they realise that a political solution is the only way forward. On Thursday, First Vice-President Amrullah Saleh that the Pakistan military had threatened missile launches against the Afghan Air Force if it targeted Taliban militia that has seized border checkposts at the frontier town of Spin Boldak.

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