August 16, 2026 03:30 pm (IST)
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Taliban-Pakistan Nexus
Taliban received explosives, arms from Pakistan, says Afghan National Security Council
Ahmad Shuja Jamal, head of international affairs at Afghanistan’s National Security Council, has alleged that the Taliban have received men, weapons, and explosives but also direction from Pakistan.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, he said: "It is very well documented and it is not just an accusation from the Afghan government; you speak to the UN Security Council, their analytical and sanctions monitoring team puts out reports periodically, you speak to independent experts, you also speak to regional countries, the United States."
"I think everybody believes [this is the reality]. I think this is a figure from the 2014 US Defense Department: of the many explosive devices that were used to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan, 80 percent of them used ammonium nitrate which is fertiliser but also a precursor for explosives were produced in two Pakistani factories," Jamal said.
He said: "But you are right that customs plays an important part of the Taliban’s ability to regenerate, but it is not the only thing. The other thing is that the Taliban is involved in transboundary, transnational organised crime in the cultivation, production and smuggling of narcotics into Iran but also through Central Asia and to Russia and Europe."
He said: "They’re also able to extort money from people and truck drivers who drive commercial goods across the country so that is really what’s feeding the Taliban. The revenue from the borders, although alarming, is really only a small fraction thus far of their revenue to feed the war."
The Taliban has captured several regions in Afghanistan in recent times.
Violence has spiked in the country ever since foreign forces started leaving Afghanistan in recent months.
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