A senior Taliban official has said that ongoing clashes with Pakistan could pave the way for Afghanistan to “reclaim” territories across the Durand Line, describing the border as an “imaginary line.”
Taliban Deputy Interior Minister Nabi Omari made the remarks on Saturday during a ceremony introducing the new governor of Khost province. He expressed hope that “the old lands of Afghanistan, which remain with them [Pakistan],” could one day be recovered, saying, “By the will of Allah, this land will return to us.”
Omari also criticised Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s comments at the Sharm el-Sheikh summit in Egypt, where Sharif praised US President Donald Trump. “It is regrettable that such a person bears the name of a Muslim,” Omari said, accusing Pakistan’s government of acting “under Trump’s orders” rather than making independent decisions.
Addressing tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan over Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Omari said the Taliban had hosted peace talks between Islamabad and the TTP in Khost and Kabul two years ago, but Pakistan “failed to accept the logical, religious, and legal demands” of the group.
He blamed the failure of those talks on opposition from certain figures, including Pakistani lawmaker Mohsin Dawar, who, he said, “did not want their positions weakened.”
Omari further claimed that the TTP neither entered Afghanistan during the Taliban’s rule nor receives any support from the group.
