Afghan Taliban fleeing Pakistan after govt warning, says senior official

Says move comes after Islamabad's clear warning to insurgent groups against using its soil for attacks in Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD: Members of the Afghan Taliban have started leaving Pakistan following a strong warning from the government to militant groups against using its soil for insurgency in Afghanistan and to renounce violence and insurgency, a senior official privy to the development told The Express Tribune on Wednesday.

“It is our understanding that several Taliban fighters have recently left Pakistan,” claimed by the official who requested not to be named..

Read: Kabul rejects army's claim of PAF attack being planned in Afghanistan

The official maintained that the country’s clear warning to the insurgent groups against not using its soil against the neighbouring country could be the main reason behind the Afghan Taliban’s exodus.

Pakistan has long been accused of harbouring the Afghan Taliban, including the deadly Haqqani network, a charge Islamabad has always denied. A senior official’s acknowledgement of the presence of some Afghan Taliban members on the Pakistani soil, however, remains unprecedented.

Explaining Pakistan’s strategy on Afghanistan, the official pointed out that Islamabad conveyed to Kabul that it would not fight its war on “our soil”.

“There are several options between taking a military action and leaving the Afghan Taliban untouched,” the official said in response to a question on whether Pakistan would use force against the Afghan Taliban if they used its soil against the neighbouring country.

Read: PAF base attack planned in Afghanistan: DG ISPR

Furthermore, talking about the prospects of peace talks, the official made it clear Pakistan facilitated talks between the Afghan Taliban and Afghan government in good faith. “But now, we will not take any initiative,” he said, adding that the “first move has to come from Kabul”.

The official went on to say that the Afghan government had to choose between peace talks and use of force. “If they (Afghanistan) prefer the military option then discussions are required between Pakistan and Afghanistan as well as China and the US,” the official added.

On Monday, Pakistan decided to only share evidence with the Afghan government and to actively pursue the Badhaber PAF airbase attack case instead of lodging a protest.

“Due to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s weak writ, Pakistan’s protest with Afghanistan on Badhaber attack will be more harmful than beneficial,” said a source who attended a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad.

Pakistan maintains that the attackers of Badhaber had come from Afghanistan and the attack was planned and coordinated from the neighbouring country. Maj Gen Asim Bajwa, director general of Pakistani military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), had said on Friday that the attack was planned in and controlled from Afghanistan.

Read: Pakistan to go 'soft' on Afghanistan over PAF attack

Taliban leader Omar Mansoor had used his Afghan number to speak to the media in Pakistan to claim responsibility for the attack. He also appeared in a video along with a group of gunmen, who, he said, were sent to launch the attack.