ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has asserted that the Afghan Taliban had reassured the government that the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) would not be allowed to operate in Afghanistan against Pakistan.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad today (Monday), the interior minister said some TTP members such as Maulvi Faqir Mohammad had been released by the Taliban after the takeover of Kabul.
“We are in full contact with the Taliban on the issue. The related authorities there have been told that those who have done terrorism in Pakistan are controlled,” the minister claimed.
He further said, “The Afghan Taliban have reassured us that Afghanistan’s land will not be allowed to be used in any case by the TTP,” adding that Pakistan desired peace in Afghanistan since peace in one country was related to peace in the other.
According to a report prepared for the United Nations Security Council in July, the TTP has about 6,000 trained fighters on the Afghan side of the border.
The report had noted that “despite growing distrust, TTP and the Taliban carry on with relations mainly as before”, adding that the former supported the latter in operations against the Afghan government.
Afghan evacuations
In today’s press conference, the minister also highlighted Pakistan’s efforts to facilitate evacuations from Afghanistan. “More than 1,200 people including Americans had been evacuated and more than 4,000 visas had been issued in total,” he pointed out.
Rashid added that 50 members of the Afghan cricket team had been issued visas as well and one-month visa-on-arrival facilities were being provided to diplomats and officials of international organisations such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund
He said the interior ministry was also ramping up its capacity in case more visas need to be issued. The interior minister clarified that Pakistan had no connection with the situation at Kabul’s airport.
“People are expecting us to gather people from different areas and give them entry to Kabul airport but this is not our responsibility,” Rashid added. In regards to refugees, he said no decision had been made but people coming at the border were being facilitated.
Regarding the fallout from the Afghan situation, he said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor’s (CPEC) importance had increased. Terming CPEC the “jugular vein” of Pakistan’s economy, he claimed there were “international conspiracies” underway against the project but the government was committed to taking it further.
