Afghan Taliban guarantees to assist Pakistan handle rising risk posed by TTP militants: FO

The two sides agreed to collaborate to successfully handle the specter of terrorism posed by terrorist entities and organisations. It was additionally agreed to strengthen multifaceted bilateral cooperation between the 2 nations.

Afghan Taliban guarantees to assist Pakistan handle rising risk posed by TTP militants (Representative Image)

By Press Trust of India: The Afghan Taliban leaders have promised to cooperate with Pakistan on its considerations concerning the presence of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants and sanctuaries on their soil after Islamabad delivered a stark warning to them to rein within the outlawed outfit amid an increase in terror assaults throughout the nation.

The promise got here throughout a day-long journey by a high-level Pakistani delegation led by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif to Kabul on Wednesday, amidst the worsening of ties between the 2 neighbours over the problem. Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch mentioned the TTP and IS-Ok risk was mentioned and “the two sides agreed to collaborate to effectively address the threat of terrorism”.

The delegation included ISI chief Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum, Foreign Secretary Asad Majid, Special Envoy on Afghanistan Muhammad Sadiq and Pakistan’s chargé d’affaires in Afghanistan Obaid Nizamani. Baloch mentioned that the high-level delegation met prime Afghan leaders, together with Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Baradar, Defence Minister Mawlavi Yaqoob, Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani and Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. “The two sides agreed to collaborate to effectively address the threat of terrorism posed by terrorist entities and organizations.

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It was also agreed to strengthen multifaceted bilateral cooperation between the two countries,” she said at the weekly media briefing here. She added that the talks with Afghan leaders were focused on security and counterterrorism matters and all aspects of this issue were discussed. “The two sides have agreed that they’d collaborate to successfully handle the specter of terrorism posed by terrorist entities and organizations, together with the 2 entities that have been talked about,” she added.

To a question about the closure of the key Torkham border crossing, Baloch said that it was not closed by Pakistan but “we have been in contact with our neighbours from Afghanistan and all matters relating to the border including on fencing remain under discussion between the two sides, including at local levels.” The visit took place days after the TTP gunmen raided the police headquarters in Karachi in which four people including three security personnel lost their lives.

Earlier a suicide bomb explosion in Peshawar mosque on January 30 claimed more than 100 lives. The TTP was blamed for the mosque attack as well. Pakistan has witnessed a surge in TTP violence since peace talks between the militant group and the government began to falter last year. The TTP formally ended the ceasefire on November 28 and since then 58 attacks have been claimed by the group in which 170 people died. Many of these attacks were planned and directed by the TTP leadership based in Afghanistan. A senior Pakistani official said the delegation delivered a pointed message to the Taliban officials that Afghanistan-based TTP elements must be reined in, the Dawn newspaper said. Afghan leaders have in the past always rejected the allegations that TTP used their country’s soil for attacks in Pakistan, but the official said this time they surprisingly agreed to cooperate on the issue, the report said. “Probably they realised the gravity of the state of affairs,” the official additional mentioned. The particulars of the cooperation in opposition to the TTP can be labored out in subsequent conferences between the 2 sides on the skilled and technical ranges.

The Afghan Taliban, in the meantime, mentioned the 2 events had mentioned financial cooperation, regional connectivity, commerce, and the state of bilateral relations. Mullah Baradar urged Pakistan to not enable “political and security concerns to affect business or economic matters”. The official mentioned the delegation linked to progress on all these concepts for enhancing bilateral cooperation with the Afghan Taliban addressing the considerations about TTP presence of their nation, the paper mentioned. The TTP has elevated the assaults in latest months and apparently, it has change into stronger because the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban who requested Pakistan to carry talks with the group. But the talks have failed as Islamabad was not prepared to just accept the calls for of the rebels.

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The TTP, which has ideological linkages with the Afghan Taliban and is also referred to as the Pakistan Taliban, was arrange as an umbrella group of a number of militant outfits in 2007. Its primary intention is to impose its strict model of Islam throughout Pakistan. Pakistan had hoped that the Afghan Taliban after coming to energy would cease using their soil in opposition to Pakistan by expelling the TTP operatives, however they’ve apparently refused to take action at the price of straining ties with Islamabad. The TTP, which is believed to be near al-Qaeda, has been blamed for a number of lethal assaults throughout Pakistan, together with an assault on military headquarters in 2009, assaults on navy bases and the 2008 bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad. In 2012, Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai was attacked by TTP. She suffered bullet accidents and was admitted to the Military Hospital (CMH) Peshawar after which taken to London for additional therapy.

The TTP claimed duty for the assault, saying that Yousafzai was a “Western-minded girl”. In 2014, the Pakistani Taliban stormed the Army Public School (APS) within the northwestern metropolis of Peshawar, killing no less than 150 individuals, together with 131 college students.

The assault despatched shockwaves internationally and was broadly condemned.

Published On:

Feb 24, 2023