Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Pakistan’s defence minister, said that Pakistan will "uproot" the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) without the cooperation of the Afghan Taliban.
He stressed that Islamabad will not look to the will of the Taliban on countering militant groups inside Afghanistan.
Earlier, he criticised the Taliban and said that the group does not prevent the activities of the TTP within the framework of the Doha Agreement.
The increase in attacks of TTP on the Pakistani security forces has escalated tension between the Taliban and Pakistan and Asif has been a vocal critic of the Taliban’s hosting of TTP inside Afghanistan.
However, the Taliban have repeatedly reacted to Asif’s comments saying that they consider the TTP, Pakistan's "internal issue" and have urged Pakistan to talk with this militant group that wants to form a government like the Afghan Taliban in Pakistan.
On Saturday, Khawaja Asif said that the Taliban have ignored their commitments in the Doha Agreement and has not taken action to prevent the use of Afghan soil for terrorist activities.
In response, the Taliban spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, told the BBC that the Taliban adheres to the Doha Agreement only in relation to the United States. He added that the Taliban has signed this "agreement with the United States and treats Pakistan not within the framework of the Doha Agreement, but as a friendly country”.
These statements of Mujahid provoked Pakistan's Defence Minister who said that "irrespective of Afghanistan’s stance, Pakistan stands resolute in uprooting terrorism from its soil, whatever the source. This is regardless of whether or not Kabul has the will to reign in militants from within its borders”.
The Afghan and Pakistani Taliban have supported one another for the past two decades.
However, in order to address Pakistan's criticisms, the Afghan Taliban has stressed that the group has implemented a plan to transfer TTP fighters from near the border of Pakistan to northern Afghanistan.
