FO rejects Kabul's claim on TTP

Afghan soil has always been used against Pakistan, says FO spokesperson

ISLAMABAD:

The Foreign Office rejected on Monday a statement issued by the Afghanistan Foreign Ministry claiming that the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) did not operate on Afghan soil.

Denying the allegations in a statement of its own, the FO asserted that Afghanistan's claim implying the presence of the militant group in Pakisan was false.

Responding to the claim, FO spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said the Afghan soil has always been used against Pakistan and there were reports of presence of terrorists along the Afghan border.

The Afghanistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday that the TTP was neither founded in Afghanistan nor did it operate on its soil.

"This movement along with other terrorist groups is recognised as the enemy of peace, stability, and prosperity in Afghanistan and the region, and the Afghan government fights against this terrorist outfit like any other terrorist group without discrimination," the Afghan foreign ministry's statement read.

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The statement came after the Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid said that Islamabad was expecting the Afghan Taliban will not allow terrorists groups like the TTP to carry out activities against Pakistan.

“Prime Minister Imran Khan has categorically said that we [Pakistan] will not give any bases to the United States to use against Afghanistan,” he said while speaking to the media in Islamabad on Saturday.

“...But we also expect from [Afghan] Taliban that they will not allow TTP [Tehreek-e-Pakistan Taliban] and other elements to carry out any activity which causes harm to the lives and property of Pakistani people,” he said.