Mariam Solaimankhil, an Afghan member of parliament living in exile, told ANI she believes Pakistan built a “business of terrorism” by creating and supporting proxy groups — including the Taliban — and now faces blowback as cross-border violence rises.
Solaimankhil strongly condemned recent Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan, calling them devastating for Afghan families. She said Islamabad has offered no proof that the strikes killed any high-profile militants and described a recurring pattern in which Pakistan claims to have eliminated terrorists without naming those leaders.
She accused Pakistan and its institutions of maintaining long-standing links with militant groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, of hosting Al-Qaeda leaders like Osama bin Laden in the past, and of housing influential Taliban councils such as the Quetta and Miramshah shuras. Solaimankhil said figures in Pakistan’s establishment, including politicians she named, have been involved in these relationships.
“They created this proxy and made a business out of terrorism,” she said, and added that, in her view, the foundation of Pakistan’s state has been built on regional destabilization. Solaimankhil described Pakistan as “a cancer” in the region for these ties.
She noted that her ancestral village, Barmal in Paktika province, was struck and tied that incident to a wider pattern of violence concentrated in Pashtun areas. Solaimankhil criticized what she called the selective burden of the conflict — Pashtun and Baloch communities suffering heavy casualties while, she argued, Punjabis in Pakistan remain largely unaffected — and questioned whether Pakistan’s security services are truly opposed to the Taliban.
Solaimankhil also alleged Pakistan derives financial benefit from ongoing instability, suggesting the country could leverage the situation for international assistance, including IMF support.
Her comments come amid escalating tensions along the Durand Line after Pakistan carried out airstrikes in Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia. Both governments have reported casualties and accused each other of aggression. Solaimankhil said she is not a proponent of war, but blamed Pakistan for much of the upheaval affecting Afghan civilians.
