Pakistan urges Afghanistan to act against militants and denies recruiting Afghan fighters

ISLAMABAD -- ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan urged Afghanistan’s Taliban government on Saturday to take verifiable action against militants it says operate from Afghan territory, dismissing Kabul’s assertion that Islamabad was shifting blame for its own security failures.In a separate statement on X, Pakistan’s Information Ministry rejected allegations that it was arming Afghans to fight the Taliban or recruiting them to fight anti-Pakistan insurgents. Former U.S. envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad had cited reports of both activities a day earlier.The exchanges come amid heightened tensions between the two sides over militant activity, repeated border clashes and Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan, deepening a longstanding dispute over responsibility for cross-border violence.Khalilzad on Friday wrote on X that there had been reports of Pakistan arming Afghans to fight the Taliban inside Afghanistan and of the Pakistani military recruiting Afghans to fight anti-Pakistan insurgents. He offered no evidence, and did not identify the sources of those reports.Last month, Afghanistan said its forces killed 28 fighters and captured 32 others, including alleged members of the Islamic State ...