Kabul gives ‘certain assurances’ on TTP

The Afghan Taliban government had given “certain assurances” to neutralise the threat of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Foreign Office said here on Friday, following Islamabad’s latest demands, seeking a decisive action against terrorist sanctuaries.

“We are obviously very disappointed that we have not seen the kind of results that we have expected from the Afghan authorities,” spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told reporters at her weekly news briefing. However, despite Pakistan’s disappointment, she emphasised that the “channels of communication” should continue.

“We will continue to impress on Afghan authorities to take effective action against these terrorist groups,” Baloch said.
“We have been given certain assurances with reference to our demands of the Afghan authorities. We now like to see effective action against these groups and substantial results on the ground with respect to any action that has been or is being taken against these terror outfits,” she added.

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Earlier this week, Pakistan conveyed a list of demands, including the handing over of Hafiz Gul Bahadur, whose group claimed responsibility for the Nov 26 suicide attack in Bannu. Authorities said the attack was carried out by an Afghan national, the latest in a series of attacks Pakistan had seen since the return of Afghan Taliban to power in Aug 2021.

“These are ongoing conversations and I would not like to divulge all the details which are still being discussed between Pakistan and Afghanistan,” the spokesperson replied, when asked to provide further details about the list of demands.

“However, our position has been clear that there should be effective, meaningful action against these terrorist groups and we should see concrete results of the action that Afghanistan takes against these terrorist groups,” she added.

Also read: Taliban envoy summoned, given four demands to rein in terror

Foiled assassination plot ​​​​​

On reports about the US foiling a plot by the Indian intelligence agencies to kill a Sikh leader on American soil, the spokesperson said these revelations were the latest in a series of such reports that confirmed the existence of a global network of Indian intelligence that was involved in espionage and extra-territorial killings.

“This network has been engaged in assassinations and abductions in South Asia for decades and Pakistan has remained a target of India’s state-sponsored terrorism, subversion, and espionage,” she added. “We have been inviting international attention to these activities of Indian intelligence services.”

Last year, Pakistan released a dossier with credible information about Indian involvement in the Lahore attack, she said. “We condemn these acts and believe that India’s irresponsible and reckless conduct is a clear violation of international law and the UN principle of state sovereignty.”