Pakistan has informed Afghanistan that they might grumble to their neighbouring country about any “unilateral action” against the presence of the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) fighters and sanctuaries on its soil.
“We [Pakistan and Afghanistan] are like twin countries, we have shared interests. So you [Afghanistan] should take some action on it. If Pakistan unilaterally takes any action against this then you can complain in the future over it,” Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said in an interview with Aaj News on Monday.
He said this in response to a query on his meetings with the interim rulers of Afghanistan, the Taliban. Asif led a day-long trip to Kabul last week. And, according to the Foreign Office statement, both sides have agreed to collaborate to effectively address the threat of terrorism. They had discussed the threat of TTP and banned Islamic State – Khorasan Province.
The visit on February 22 took place days after the TTP gunmen raided the police headquarters in Karachi in which four people including three security personnel lost their lives. Earlier, a suicide bomber killed more than 80 people in a mosque in a supposedly highly fortified area in Peshawar. The TTP was blamed for the mosque attack as well.
Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terrorist attacks since the outlawed group called a shaky ceasefire agreed with the government. However, locals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the northwestern province sharing the border with Afghanistan, have held demonstrations in the province against the presence of troublemakers. They have demanded of the government to ensure peace.
Asif joined Asma Shirazi’s show Faisla Aap Ka for an exclusive interview where he answered queries related to economic, social, and political issues.
“See for us, this TTP issue is an issue of existence. This is an issue of our survival. We cannot leave our people at the mercy of such situations. This is our responsibility. 86,000 lives have been lost, including army men,” he started by sharing details of his visit.
When asked about the past agreements signed by the new rulers of Afghanistan, the defence minister shared details about the entry of terrorists here.
“The security meetings held in the assembly. Three to four in which the leadership of establishment, our intelligence leadership led by Gen Faiz establishment, [former army chief] Gen Bajwa briefed us and under that arrangement people were brought here. But it collapsed. The people, who were brought here, did not live here peacefully and started doing the same actions they did before as a result three to four operations, were carried out here in which many of our soldiers and generals were martyred. Similarly, there is a long tale of sacrifices rendered by our police, FC, and Rangers,” Asif said.
He was of the view that it was not appropriate to again put “that thing on stake”. The defence minister stressed that Pakistan was the only country in the world interested in peace and prosperity of Afghanistan after Afghans, with an aim that the neighbouring country ran its matters by itself.
He expressed Islamabad’s willingness to help Kabul to get back on its feet in whatever capacity the country can. “But, actions taking place from that soil is no bearable anymore as we had enough,” he said.
When the host asked if the country has delivered the same message to the new rulers of Afghanistan, he said Pakistan has asked the Afghan Taliban to assist them as per the international agreements—under which the group has vowed to not allow its soil to be used against any other country.
“These people [TTP] are using your soil. These people are trying to spoil our relationship. So this should not happen. We value our ties with you. We are like twin countries as our interests are the same,” Asif said.
Speaking about the “unilateral action”, he mentioned that thousands of people arrived here on the basis of valid documents and some of them came here on the visa. “Out of them, 100,000 went back. But remaining did not return they are here.”
The United States (US) had asked Pakistan to bring people here, on transit, who are in thousands of numbers, have not returned to the US as the country was still processing it, the defence minister added.
“There are many problems like this which have compounded and we are trying to find a solution to them.”
