Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Interior also claimed there are credible intelligence reports that the insurgents are trying to take over provincial capitals in the country

Afghanistan notwithstanding recent efforts including the just concluded Heart of Asia meet to achieve peace has alleged that Pakistani intelligence agencies are planning to launch major terror strikes through their proxy Taliban.

Pakistan’s intelligence agency has summoned the Taliban’s shadow governors and commanders to plan for a spring offensive in Afghanistan, Nazar Ali Wahidi, the deputy head of the National Directorate of Security (NDS), Afghanistan's intelligence agency, has alleged.

The allegations were levelled even as leaders from Afghanistan and Pakistan and other key stakeholders including India met for the Heart of Asia meet in Tajikistan on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss a formula for durable peace in war-torn Afghanistan. “The majority of Taliban governors and military officials have been summoned to Peshawar to prepare for the war. I wish Pakistan was kind and would help Afghanistan reach peace and move toward development. But Pakistan always thinks of how to kill the Afghans. They have made preparations for war, but we are also ready for it,” Wahidi told reporters at a press meet in Kabul on Tuesday.

In his address at the Heart of Asia meet in Dushanbe (Tajik capital) on Tuesday Foreign Minister S Jaishankar had a subtle message for Pakistan when he mentioned that peace in and around Afghanistan is imperative for durable peace in the landlocked country. He expressed similar sentiments when he met his Tajik counterpart on Wednesday.

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Interior also claimed there are credible intelligence reports that the insurgents are trying to take over provincial capitals in the country.

“The enemy is trying to launch new attacks to gain points in the political arena,” Mohammad Anwar Baripal, Afghanistan’s deputy minister of interior said on Tuesday.

“There are threats against us in the south, in the west and all provinces, we are fully prepared to crush the threats,” said Iqbal Ali Naderi, the first deputy minister of defence.

On Tuesday, the Afghan senate summoned security officials to answer questions about the deteriorating security situation, particularly regarding the surge in casualties among Afghan security forces, and the targeted killings in big cities.

“Everyone wants security, we do not understand why our security institutions have failed to address the security problems, they should explain the reasons behind this,” said senator Mualem Lalagul.

According to Afghan security institutions, 20 provinces of the country have witnessed fighting between the Afghan security forces and the Taliban in the past few days.