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In the wake of the US drone operation that killed Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri, Taliban claimed that Pakistan has received a whopping sum of money for allowing the US airstrikes in Afghanistan and added that they have substantial evidence to back their claims, media reports said.
On July 31, the United States conducted a precision counterterrorism strike in Afghanistan that killed Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's deputy and successor as leader of Al-Qaeda. It is also worth noting that this is a key development as Taliban has already claimed that the US drones that invaded Afghanistan to kill Zawahiri made their way through the airspace of Pakistan. Addressing a meeting commemorating World Tourism Day, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, Political Deputy of Taliban-led Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed that Pakistan has received millions of dollars to concede to the US demands of using its airspace, reported Khaama Press. While claiming to have in possession the evidence, especially videos to back its claims, Stanekzai said that the evidence proves how Pakistan has given the US access to its airspace, reported Khaama Press. As Pakistan is currently undergoing a severe economic crisis, Stanekzai said that even as the situation remains grim in Islamabad it should not exploit Afghanistan to alleviate its economic situation. Earlier, Talibani-appointed Minister of Defense, Mullah Yaqoub Mujahid accused Pakistan of allowing its airspace and territory to be used by the US's drones. In response to Taliban's claims that Pakistan acted in collusion with the US for carrying out the strikes, Pakistan said these are merely "conjectural allegations", and a violation of the norms of responsible diplomatic conduct. Al- Zawahiri was one of the masterminds of the attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001, and had continued to urge his followers to attack the United States. Stating that "Justice has been delivered," US President Joe Biden in a televised address announced that Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed in an air strike by the United States. "He will never again, never again, allow Afghanistan to become a terrorist safe haven because he is gone and we're going to make sure that nothing else happens," he had said. The strike was conducted by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and was carried out by an Air Force drone. The official claimed that al-Zawahiri was the only person killed in the strike and that none of his family members was injured. A senior US official noted that Zawahiri's presence in the Afghan capital Kabul was a "clear violation" of a deal the Taliban had signed with the US in Doha in 2020 that paved the way for the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. (ANI)
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