Daily Times

Pakistan on Monday dismissed as ‘contrary to facts’ a statement by Kabul that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is not active in Afghanistan.

In response to media queries about the remarks of press office of Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding TTP’s activities in Afghanistan, Foreign Office Spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said the assertions of the Afghan side are contrary to the facts on ground and various reports of the United Nations, which also corroborate the presence and activities of over 5,000-strong TTP in Afghanistan.

The spokesman’s comments came after the Afghan foreign ministry said the TTP is “not nuclearized in Afghanistan at all and is not active in our territory.” Chaudhri said the outlawed TTP has launched several gruesome terrorist attacks inside Pakistan over the last many years ‘using Afghan soil without any retribution from its hosts’. He referred to the 12th Report of the UN Monitoring Team, issued in June 2021, which acknowledges TTP’s ‘distinctive anti-Pakistan objectives’ and notes its location within Afghanistan ‘near the border with Pakistan’. “TTP following its orchestrated reunification with its splinter groups with the help of hostile intelligence agencies, its continued presence in Afghanistan with impunity and its cross-border attacks against Pakistan pose a persistent threat to our security and stability,” he said.

He said Pakistan’s commitment to fighting terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, without any discrimination, is ‘unwavering and unambiguous’. “Pakistan has continued to emphasize the need for meaningful engagement with Afghan side for addressing security and terrorism issues through effective use of Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS),” he went on to say, adding that Pakistan has been making serious and sincere efforts for facilitating intra-Afghan peace process for an inclusive political settlement. “We hope that Afghans will seize this opportunity for achieving lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan,” he added.

On its part, Afghanistan said according to the National Security Policy of Afghanistan, TTP, along with other terrorist groups, is ‘recognized as the enemy of peace, stability and prosperity in Afghanistan and the region, and the Afghan government fights against this terrorist group like any other terrorist group without discrimination’. A statement from Kabul said Afghanistan is committed to the implementation of UN Security Council resolutions and the Doha Peace Agreement and has emphasised on the severance of ties between the Taliban and other regional and international terrorist groups, including TTP, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish Mohammad, Tehreek-e-Islami Uzbekistan, Tahrik Islami Eastern Turkistan, Al-Qaeda and ISIS. “In order to ensure lasting peace in Afghanistan and to ensure stability and prosperity in the region, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan calls on all countries, especially Pakistan, to deal with terrorist groups jointly, equally and without discrimination, and not allow these groups, which are closely linked and organized, to compromise with each other and endanger the security and stability of our countries,” the statement added.

A UN report in February had said that TTP was responsible for more than 100 cross-border attacks between July and October 2020. The TTP attacks, which have included multiple suicide bombings, have killed hundreds of members of the Pakistan defense forces, law enforcement personnel and civilians, according to the UN Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team.

Earlier in July 2020, another UN report had said more than 6,000 Pakistani militants were hiding in Afghanistan, most belonging to the TTP responsible for attacking Pakistani military and civilian targets. The report had said the TTP had linked up with the Afghan-based affiliate of the Islamic State group and that some of TTP’s members have even joined the IS affiliate, which has its headquarters in eastern Afghanistan.