Afghan minister advises Pakistan, TTP to engage in dialogue

Our experience is that you cannot win this war, Omari warns Pakistan

Afghanistan's Deputy Interior Minister Mohammad Nabi Omari has advised Pakistan and the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to resolve their issues through dialogue as the violence in Pakistan "is spreading to Afghanistan". 

Speaking at an event, Omari further said that they (Afghan Taliban) have been through wars and revolutions. "Wars and revolutions create widows, create orphans, destroy the country and the economy," said the minister. 

The Afghan deputy interior minister further warned Islamabad that if the country's army is a million or ten million, it is "our experience that you cannot win this war".

Referring to those fighting against Pakistan brothers, Omari said even if the TTP invokes jihad (holy war), the Afghan Taliban will not interfere. 

At the same time, he also advised the TTP and its allied militant groups that "even if they fight for 100 years, we have nothing to do with it".

"The fighting in Pakistan is creating problems for us and the flames are reaching Afghanistan."

Read Afghan Taliban nudge TTP on talks with Islamabad

In March, the two main factions of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan – the Haqqani and Kandahari groups – directed the TTP to engage in discussions with Islamabad to de-escalate tensions between the neighbouring capitals.

Pakistan has once again leveraged the influence of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami (JUI-S) leadership to bring the TTP to the negotiation table.

The development came on the heels of an unannounced trip led by Maulana Hamidul Haq, the elder son of the late Maulana Sami-ul-Haq, where he held meetings with key figures, including Taliban Deputy Prime Minister for Political Affairs Maulvi Abdul Kabir, Afghan Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, Khalil Haqqani (Sirajuddin's uncle), and the governor of Logar and Paktika.

The discussions also involved various leaders of the Haqqani network, many of whom studied in Nowshera, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

It is pertinent to note that the senior leadership of Jamia Dar al-Uloom Haqqania played a crucial role in the Kabul agreement during 2013-14. They were integral to the signing of the ceasefire agreement, which included a commitment to non-offensive behaviour towards Islamabad.