Ties With Taliban Depend On Crackdown On TTP, Says Pak Defence Minister
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said that relations between Islamabad and Kabul will not normalise until the Taliban ends its support for Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
In an interview with Geo News on Friday, Asif said peaceful relations with Afghanistan are only possible if the Taliban take decisive action against the Pakistani Taliban group.
He claimed that several TTP members have taken refuge in Afghanistan and continue to infiltrate Pakistani territory.
Asif said Pakistan’s top priority is ending terrorist infiltration from Afghan soil.
His comments come a day after Taliban Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani described the TTP issue as Pakistan’s “internal matter” and urged Islamabad to resolve it domestically.
Speaking at a meeting in Kabul on Thursday, Haqqani said the Taliban lack “tanks, artillery, or aircraft” but have the determination to defend Afghanistan against foreign aggression.
Referring to Islamabad’s recent warnings, Haqqani said other nations should learn from the fate of the Soviet Union, NATO, and the United States.
He also accused certain individuals in Pakistan of “fanning the flames of war,” saying their actions threaten to destabilise the region further.
