Islamabad confronts Kabul with ‘irrefutable evidence’ of TTP hideouts

Sources say Pakistani delegation sought decisive action against banned outfit ‘with no ifs and buts’

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan has presented “irrefutable evidence” to the Afghan Taliban about the presence of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) hideouts and precise location of its leadership in Afghanistan, sources told The Express Tribune on Thursday.

The evidence was shared during the visit of a high-powered delegation led by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif to Kabul on Wednesday.

Contrary to the statement issued by the Afghan government, the visit had only one point agenda focusing on counter terrorism and presence of the TTP sanctuaries on the Afghan soil.

It was the first high-level visit from Pakistan since the change of government and particularly after the surge in TTP sponsored terrorist attacks.

Also read: Pakistan gets ‘fresh commitment’ from Afghan Taliban on TTP

There was a shift in Pakistan’s stance on the TTP after the recent spike in terrorist attacks with the country’s civil and military leadership no longer seeking talks with the terrorist outfit.

Against this backdrop, the Pakistani delegation not only shared what sources said “irrefutable evidence” about the presence of TTP leadership but sought decisive action with "no ifs and buts".

What was significant during the visit was that the Pakistani side for the first time confronted the Afghan Taliban leadership with evidence that TTP leadership was freely moving in Afghanistan and importantly with the facilitation of the interim government.

The Afghan side gave a detailed briefing to the Pakistani side and conceded that terrorism was originating from the Afghan soil. The Pakistani delegation was presented with different options and solutions to deal with the problem. However, the Pakistani side was not satisfied with the presentation and proposals to resolve the TTP issue.

Pakistan then shared evidence and “precise location” of TTP leadership in Afghanistan. The Afghan Taliban government could not deny the hard facts but failed to mention the same in its official handout.

Nevertheless, the Afghan Taliban promised to take care of the TTP elements inside Afghanistan and agreed to work for regional peace.

The pledge came after Afghan Taliban were conveyed in clear terms that Pakistan’s goodwill should not be misconstrued as its weakness and demanded robust steps against the TTP.

The issue of border management also came up for discussion and the Pakistani side rebutted claims of the Afghan Taliban that Islamabad was responsible for frequent incidents that led to the closure of border points on a few occasions.

Also read: Islamabad in quiet diplomacy with Kabul to neutralise TTP

The Afghan government was informed that Pakistan was facilitating the Afghan nationals in the best possible way but Afghans seeking to cross the border repeatedly failed to comply with protocols by providing fake and incomplete documents.

Meanwhile, speaking at the weekly news briefing, Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch was more diplomatic when asked to comment on the outcome of the Pakistani delegation’s visit to Kabul.

“Since it is a very sensitive matter relating to security and counterterrorism, we are not in a position to share the details with the media about what was agreed and how the discussions went,” she said in response to a question about whether Pakistan shared any evidence with the Afghan Taliban about the linkages between the recent terrorist attacks and the TTP sanctuaries across the border.