Daily Times

Afghan Taliban Spokesman Suhail Shaheen has said the group welcomes help and advice from neighbouring Pakistan on how to reach a peaceful settlement in the war-torn country but would not accept Islamabad’s ‘dictation’ of the process. The comments come amid an upsurge in fighting and the flight of thousands of members of the tattered Afghan security forces, which have raised grave doubts about the future of United States-backed peace negotiations between the Taliban and the Kabul government. Talking to a private Pakistani television channel, Shaheen said: “We want brotherly relations with Pakistan. It’s a neighbouring Muslim country, we have shared values, historical, religious, cultural. This is the reality.” However, he added: “On the peace process, they can advise us, help us, but whoever imposes, no matter who it is, someone tries to give us dictation, then that is against our principles.” “We will not let the soil of Afghanistan be allowed to be used against anyone,” Shaheen said when asked about the role of the TTP in post-withdrawal Afghanistan and if the Afghan Taliban considered them opponents or partners. “We will not give permission to an individual and we will not give permission to any group to use the soil of Afghanistan against another country. This is our policy.” Meanwhile, the Taliban on Monday warned Turkey against keeping its troops in Afghanistan to run and guard the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, saying that any country that opts to retain soldiers in the war-torn country after the US and NATO withdrawal would be treated as an “occupier.” Turkey has more than 500 troops in Afghanistan as part of a non-combat NATO mission, with some soldiers training Afghan security forces and others serving at the international airport in the capital. As NATO’s only Muslim member, Turkey’s non-combat troops have rarely been attacked by the Taliban or other insurgent groups in Afghanistan, with Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, telling media on Monday the group wants “normal ties” with Ankara. However, he rejected Ankara’s proposal that its troops stay behind to oversee Kabul airport’s operations. “Turkey has been in Afghanistan for the past 20 years with NATO, and if it wants to remain now, without any doubt, we regard it as an occupier and will act against it,” Mujahid said. “We have lots of commonalities with Turkey…and they are Muslim, but if they intervene and keep its troops, then it will bear the responsibility.”