FO spokesperson: Taliban acknowledged TTP and other terror groups' presence in Afghanistan.
Tahir Hussain Andrabi, a spokesperson for the Foreign Office, stated on Friday that the Kabul-based Afghan Taliban government had acknowledged the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other terrorist organizations' presence on its territory.
Following a rapid deterioration of ties and a brief conflict along their shared border earlier this month, Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to maintain a ceasefire. The talks were scheduled.
The agreement concluded five days of tense negotiations, the first of which took place in Doha on October 18 and 19 and was mediated by Türkiye and Qatar in Istanbul. The round, which had begun on Saturday, had reached a point of near-collapse on Wednesday, with Islamabad saying that its long-standing concern over terror attacks emanating from Afghanistan remained a major point of contention.
However, Türkiye and Qatar salvaged the dialogue process for the second time in less than a week, resulting in a breakthrough in the impasse. Fielding questions after delivering a weekly press briefing, the spokesperson said, “The Afghan Taliban government has acknowledged the presence of TTP and other terrorist organizations.
He continued, "Afghan authorities have given various reasons for not taking action against these organizations." Pakistan's security concerns are bolstered by the presence of terrorist elements on Afghan soil. Andrabi said in response to a question that Pakistan has been in constant contact with the Afghan Taliban for the past four years. He also said that Islamabad approached negotiations with Kabul with “cautiously optimistic” optimism. “[We are] not extremely optimistic, but maintaining optimism in diplomacy is a professional requirement,” he explained. "Our diplomatic process relies heavily on optimism." The spokesperson responded that he had "no information on the matter" and referred the inquiry to the interior ministry when asked about opening the Torkham border crossing, a significant crossing between the Pakistani city of Torkham and Afghanistan. He stated, "Contact is maintained with Pakistani traders, residents, and businesspeople in Afghanistan." “Traders have the option to return through direct flights, and work is underway to determine the number of people who wish to return.”
The border will remain closed until further notice, Andrabi stated. During the briefing, he stated that Pakistan expected a "positive outcome" from the November 6 start of the next round of talks with the Afghan Taliban. During a weekly FO briefing, he stated, "Pakistan will continue to remain engaged in the mediation process and hopes for a positive outcome for the November 6 talks." Andrabi recalled during the briefing that the second round of talks between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban regime in the presence of mediators concluded in Istanbul yesterday evening.
He continued, "Pakistan participated in the Istanbul talks, which began on October 25, in a good spirit and with a positive intention." The talks, according to the FO spokesperson, were initially scheduled for two days. “ However, in an effort to reach an amicable agreement with the Taliban regime, the Pakistan side, in earnest, continued the talks for four days.
Pakistan "engaged positively with the Taliban regime without compromising its clearly stated position that Afghanistan soil should not be used for terrorism against Pakistan," according to the report. He asserted that Pakistan did not seek further escalation of hostilities but “expects the Afghan Taliban regime to honor its commitment to the international community and address Pakistan’s legitimate security concerns by taking concrete and verifiable actions against terrorist entities, including Fitna-al-Khawarij and Fitna-al-Hindustan.”
Fitna-al-Khawarij is a term designated by the state for the banned terror outfit Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, and Fitna-al-Hindustan is a term that the state uses for Balochistan-based groups to highlight India’s alleged role in terrorism and destabilization across Pakistan.
Andrabi said that Pakistan had been urging the Afghan Taliban for the past four years to take “decisive and effective measures” against terrorist outfits present on Afghanistan soil.
“We repeatedly shared credible information about the presence of top leadership of Fitna-al-Khawarij and Fitna-al-Hindustan on Afghan soil with the Taliban regime. However, despite previous assurances, there has been an increase in Afghanistan-based terrorist attacks in Pakistan. He stated that the Afghan Taliban's "consistent and total disregard" of Pakistan's legitimate security concerns over the past four years and their "unprovoked aggression against Pakistan with the support of Fitna-al-Khawarij on Oct. 11 and 12 and later Oct. 14 and 15 led to violent exchanges across the international border" were two of the factors that contributed to the conflict. “Pakistan decisively responded to Afghan provocation aimed at destabilizing the border area, facilitating terrorism, and furthering the Fitna-al-Khawarij’s nefarious designs.”
Pakistan would respond resolutely if provocations continue in the future, he further warned.
The spokesperson for the FO emphasized that Pakistan had always desired a peaceful, stable, regionally integrated, prosperous, and "at peace with itself and its neighbors" Afghanistan. With the Taliban takeover of Kabul in August 2021, we expected the vision of regional peace and connectivity to be realized.
"In the same spirit, Pakistan took many initiatives this year to support and help Afghanistan and extended a number of concessions to Afghanistan, especially for Afghan transit trade, despite our various security concerns." He further highlighted that Islamabad had elevated its diplomatic representation with Afghanistan from chargé d’affaires to the ambassador level and also agreed to expand the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project to Afghanistan.
Andrabi recalled that Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had visited Kabul thrice, including on July 17, to sign an agreement on the joint feasibility study of the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan Railway Project.
He went on to say that the "government and armed forces stand ready to take all possible measures to protect Pakistan's sovereignty and ensure the safety and security of its people" and were also on hand. The FO spokesperson then went on to appreciate the “constructive role of the brotherly countries of Qatar and Türkiye.”
“They have been making their best efforts for an amicable and peaceful resolution of the issue,” he said.
‘Ceasefire can’t be effective until terrorism stops’
In the meantime, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif confirmed to Geo News that an interim agreement had been reached between the two countries through the mediation of Turkiye and Qatar. Asif had been particularly critical of Afghanistan since the beginning of border hostilities earlier this month. He stated, "An additional round of negotiations will be held on November 6." Asif asserted that Pakistan’s main demand continued to be the “stopping of terrorism emanating from Afghan soil”.
He went on to say that "there is a ray of hope, but not due to Afghanistan and only so due to Qatar and Turkiye's influence" over Kabul. In addition, the defense minister emphasized that "until terrorism stops, the ceasefire cannot be effective" and that "there have been some ceasefire violations from Afghanistan." Talks and skirmishes at the border In recent weeks, Pakistan and Afghanistan's relations have deteriorated, with border clashes, counter-statements, and allegations. On the evening of October 11, an attack from Afghanistan on Pakistan sparked the escalation of hostilities.
The Afghan Taliban had made the claim that Pakistan had launched airstrikes into Afghanistan. Islamabad has neither confirmed nor denied this claim. For its part, Islamabad has long demanded that the Taliban stop terror groups from using its soil against Pakistan.
However, the Taliban deny that they allowed terrorists to operate from Afghan soil. In the meantime, Pakistan is still dealing with the problem of terrorism and has lost a lot of security forces in intelligence-based operations. After the initial skirmish on October 11, multiple others took place along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Meanwhile, strikes by Islamabad also targeted Gul Bahadur group camps in Afghanistan.
Eventually, the two sides came together for dialogue in Doha, which resulted in a temporary ceasefire, as well as a commitment to reconvene in Istanbul to work on mechanisms for lasting peace and stability between the two countries.
The two sides began the second round of talks last week in the Turkish capital, which was mediated by Türkiye and Qatar. However, Tarar stated in a post on X on Wednesday that the most recent round of negotiations between Kabul and Islamabad in Istanbul "failed to bring about any workable solution."
He also said that Pakistan would continue to do everything it could to keep its citizens safe from terrorism. However, after Turkiye and Qatar’s efforts, the two sides to continue the ceasefire, set up a joint monitoring and verification mechanism to ensure peace along their shared border and penalise any violators.
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