Breaking Update: Pakistan has rejected illogical excuses of Afghan Taliban for protecting terrorists such as Fitna e Khawraj (official name of TTP terrorists).
According to security sources, in the talks held in Istanbul, the Pakistani delegation has presented its final position to the Afghan Taliban delegation and made it clear that the ongoing patronage of terrorists by the Afghan Taliban is unacceptable. It may be mentioned that Afghan Taliban put a condition for peace that Pakistan must include internationally banned terror outfit TTP in official talks being held between Pakistan and Afghan Taliban.
Sources informed DND News Agency that Pakistani delegation also made it clear that concrete and verifiable steps will have to be taken by Taliban regime to eliminate cross border terrorism from and inside Afghanistan.
“On the contrary, the arguments being given by Taliban are illogical and opposite to ground realities. It seems that the Taliban are following someone else or another agenda that is not in the interest of the stability of Afghanistan, Pakistan and the region”, said security sources who added that further progress in the talks depends on the positive attitude of the Afghan Taliban.
When contacted for a comment on the situation at the Pak–Afghan border, an official who is one of the responsible persons within the top security hierarchy shared important information on condition of anonymity, as he is not authorized to speak with the media about security operations. He believes that incidents of cross-border terrorism during ongoing talks between the Afghan Taliban and Pakistan indicate that the Afghan Taliban do not wish to act against Fitna al-Khwarij (TTP). He considers that the Afghan Taliban themselves non-state actors stand alongside other non-state actors such as Fitna al-Khwarij because they benefit from each other. According to him, they collaborate for mutual interests: ruling the Afghan people without accountability, while earning billions of USD through smuggling, drugs, arms trafficking, and regional terrorism as hired guns.
When asked for his opinion, senior journalist Aijaz Ahmed, who covers the foreign affairs and Defence, said that Pakistan joined the talks with clarity and presented concrete evidence, ensuring the discussions remained focused on the core issue. However, the Afghan Taliban’s refusal to act on Pakistan’s justified demands endorsed by Türkiye, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE shows their intent to use terrorism as diplomatic leverage instead of respecting international mediators.
Another senior journalist, Agha Iqrar Haroon, who covered the Afghan war in the early 1990s, said that he has never had any doubt that the Afghan Taliban serve the Indian agenda and have no respect or affection for Pakistan. Haroon, who has long been critical of the Afghan Taliban even when Pakistan’s state institutions were not ready to listen, stated that Pakistan is wasting time in talks with the Taliban and should deal with them as it deals with India. He claimed that there is a strong pro-Afghan lobby within Pakistan’s system that refuses to acknowledge the truth that the Afghan Taliban are as hostile toward Pakistan as India is. Haroon added that a deadlock in the talks will come at a cost for both Pakistan and Afghanistan but will help clarify for the public that the Afghan Taliban do not desire peace with Pakistan — a reality, he said, that the state has long ignored or refused to believe.
“Khwarij continue infiltration attempts that undermine Afghan–Pakistan Peace Dialogue and I have reason to believe that Afghan Taliban are again using terrorism as Diplomatic Leverage against Pakistan. Are they Peace Talks or tactical trap?”, asked Haroon
Foreign affairs expert Dr. Shazia Anwer Cheema said that Pakistan entered the ongoing peace talks with a single non-negotiable demand the dismantling of all TTP sanctuaries and support structures inside Afghanistan. However, recent border infiltration attempts confirm that the Afghan Taliban have no intention of stopping TTP attacks on Pakistan, and Afghan soil remains an active launchpad for terrorism against Pakistan.
She said the situation provides strong reasons to believe that hostile intelligence networks particularly India’s RAW are exploiting Afghan territory to destabilize Pakistan. Dr. Cheema added that the Taliban’s demand to include TTP in the peace process exposes their unwillingness to cleanse their land of terrorists and shows that they intend to keep Afghanistan a “terror marketplace.”
She emphasized that the situation should serve as an eye-opener for friendly countries such as China, Qatar, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE all of whom encouraged Pakistan to hold talks with the Taliban. “Now it is clear that Pakistan’s goodwill and restraint have been taken as weakness, and the Afghan Taliban want to push Pakistan into accepting their terms and conditions,” she said.
