Official says Afghan Taliban fleeing Pakistan

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan’s recent warning to the Afghan Taliban to stop using its territory against Afghanistan has compelled many members of the insurgent group to flee the country, an official privy to the development revealed on Wednesday.

The senior official, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue, claimed that several Taliban members had recently fled to Afghanistan, reportedly after being told that Pakistan will no longer tolerate the insurgent group’s activities on its soil.

He confirmed that Afghan Taliban were told to renounce violence and insurgency. It was believed that the message was delivered to the new Afghan Taliban leadership in recent weeks.

“We have credible reports that several Taliban fighters have recently left Pakistan,” the official claimed.

However, it is difficult to independently verify his claims.

The official said Pakistan’s clear warning to the insurgent group for not using its soil against Afghanistan could be the main reason behind Afghan Taliban’s move.

Pakistan has long been accused of harbouring the Afghan Taliban and the deadly Haqqani network, a charge Islamabad has always denied. But this is unprecedented that a senior official has acknowledged the presence of some Afghan Taliban members on the Pakistani soil.

The development comes at a time when relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been marred by allegations and counter-allegations of sponsoring cross border terrorism in each other’s country.

Islamabad has claimed that recent attack on a former airbase in Peshawar was planned and executed from neighboring Afghanistan.

Kabul, which has denied the allegations, has its own grievances against Islamabad for doing little to stop Haqqani Network from carrying out attacks in the war-torn country. But the official here made it clear that the government will not fight the Afghan war on Pakistan soil.

Backing this approach, the official insisted that Pakistan could not afford the blowback of its action against groups involved in insurgency in Afghanistan.

Asked does this mean Pakistan would not fight Afghan Taliban inside its territory, the official said, “There are several options between taking a military action and leaving the Afghan Taliban untouched.”

Talking about the prospects of peace talks, the official made it clear that Pakistan had facilitated negotiations between the representatives of Afghan government and the Taliban in good faith.

“But now we will not take any initiative. The first move has to come from Kabul,” the official added.

The official also said that the Afghan government had to choose between the peace talks and use of force.

“If they (Afghanistan) prefer military option then discussions are required between Pakistan and Afghanistan as well as China and the US,” the official said.

Pakistan is expected to convey its position when Prime Minister’s Adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani meet in New York on the sidelines of UN the General Assembly session.


Published in The Express Tribune, September 24^th, 2015.