National Security Adviser (NSA) Moeed Yusuf has rejected claims that Pakistan had been supporting Taliban forces in the fight to take Panjshir, the last stronghold of opposition fighters. When asked about this narrative by CNN journalist Becky Anderson, Yusuf attributed these allegations to Indian-backed “fake news” and a “bogey” of the previous Afghan government.
Referring to claims made by opposition voices from Afghanistan, as well as some quarters in India and Iran, the CNN journalist asked him: “Did the Pakistani army support the Taliban attack on anti-Taliban forces in Panjshir using drones and/or other weaponry?”
Yusuf categorically responded: “It’s preposterous is all I can say.”
The National Security Advisor then went on explain that such claims had been made by the previous government in Afghanistan, but that Pakistan had been pointing out the internal problems due to which “project Afghanistan” had been failing.
To support his argument, Yusuf showed the anchor some of the fake imagery which has been circulated by various media outlets from India about claims of Pakistani involvement in the Panjshir fighting. He added that India had spent millions of dollars in “creating a fake news network.”
