The Pakistani minister said that the Pakistani Taliban are still using Afghan soil against Pakistan
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said, Islamabad, that the outlawed Taliban movement Pakistan is still using Afghan soil to launch attacks against Pakistan, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to media reports.
In an interview with the American station “Voice of America”, Asif said: “Islamabad has good relations with the ruling Taliban government in Kabul. However, the Afghan authorities have not succeeded in stopping the use of its territory to launch attacks on Pakistan.”
The Express Tribune reported that the minister said the matter was brought up and discussed last month during a meeting between a high-level delegation, including Asif and the Director General of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence Service, Lt. Gen. Nadeem Anjum, and Afghan officials.
“During the meeting, the Taliban expressed their determination to deal with this problem,” Asif said.
The defense minister added that the Afghan authorities said they would not allow their territory to be used for terrorism against any country.
Asif said he believes the Afghan Taliban “disassociates itself from the outlawed group, but due to the fact that they fought against NATO together in the past, there was a friendship between the two,” the Express Tribune reported.
During the interview, Asif also claimed that the resettlement of TTP leaders was done through a “program”.
“(PTI Chairman and former Prime Minister) Imran Khan has been indicating throughout his political career that he is ideologically supportive of the Taliban. At various points, the international media has referred to him as ‘Taliban Khan’.”
The minister stressed that the people of the tribal areas and KP are not ready to “coexist” with the Taliban, saying, “It is worth noting that unarmed people are protesting against the return of the Taliban,” according to the Express Tribune.
– Jans
san / arm