Afghan intelligence accused of running disinformation campaign against Pakistan

The Afghan Taliban regime’s General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) has allegedly initiated a coordinated campaign to discredit Pakistan by forcing Afghan nationals into recording video confessions, sources said on Wednesday.

According to the sources, detained Afghan nationals were reportedly being pressured to confess to having links with the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) and anti-Taliban resistance groups.

The detainees were allegedly forced to claim that they had received combat training at secret locations inside Pakistan to carry out attacks against the Taliban administration.

The alleged campaign is aimed at diverting growing international criticism of the Afghan interim government over its failure to tackle terrorist sanctuaries operating within Afghanistan, the sources claimed.

The sources further alleged that the Taliban authorities intended to share the purported confessions with regional countries, including Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Iran, in an effort to shape regional perceptions and damage Pakistan’s diplomatic relations with Central Asian states.

They added that the administration also planned to circulate the videos on social media. Senior Taliban officials were reportedly briefed to refer to the statements in upcoming media appearances and international briefings.

Analysts believe the alleged strategy could exploit regional concerns about security threats, particularly Russia’s worries over the growing presence of ISKP.

By portraying Pakistan as a source of terrorism, the Afghan administration is allegedly attempting to shift attention away from questions about its own counterterrorism measures and its commitments to the international community.