Will Pakistan's Warning to Taliban End Ties with TTP?

Islamabad, Sep 17 (NationPress) Pakistan has called upon the Taliban leadership to sever ties with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and honor its obligations to eradicate the “terrorist group” from Afghan territory. The Pakistani government warned that failure to comply would be viewed as a “hostile” act, according to local media reports released on Wednesday.

Pakistan expressed its apprehensions to Kabul via Afghanistan's interim ambassador in Pakistan, who was summoned to the Foreign Office in Islamabad. Pakistani officials communicated that the Taliban must ensure that Afghan soil is not utilized for terrorist activities, as reported by the Pakistani daily, The News International.

The Afghan envoy was called in following a recent spike in terrorist activities by the Fitna al-Khawarij terrorists, who are reportedly finding refuge on Afghan soil, the newspaper noted.

Additional Foreign Secretary Syed Ali Assad Gilani reportedly relayed Pakistan’s concerns to the Afghan envoy.

In a related development, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Muhammad Sadiq Khan, is expected to lead a delegation of senior officials to Kabul later this week. The delegation aims to discuss the latest developments in bilateral issues with the Taliban and convey messages from Pakistani authorities to their Afghan counterparts.

Khan recently returned to Islamabad after an unannounced mission to the United Arab Emirates focused on Afghanistan-related issues. He is set to deliver a comprehensive report to Pakistan's leadership regarding his visit, as stated by local media.

This latest situation arises after the deaths of at least 12 Pakistani soldiers in various attacks attributed to the TTP in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province between September 10 and 13.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) of the Pakistan military confirmed the soldiers’ fatalities, stating they occurred during intense firefights in the South Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, during two separate engagements.

Last Saturday, state-run Radio Pakistan noted that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has pledged to continue combating terrorism with “full force” following the attacks, which persisted into Saturday.

According to reports from Radio Pakistan, PM Shehbaz and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir visited Bannu and attended a high-level meeting on counter-terrorism. They also participated in the funeral prayers for the martyrs of the South Waziristan operation, as reported by Pakistan's leading daily, Dawn.

Sharif was quoted stating that the terrorist leaders and facilitators responsible for attacks in Pakistan are operating from Afghan territory.

He asserted that the Afghan Interim Government has been explicitly instructed to choose between supporting the Khawarij or aligning with Pakistan. He emphasized the involvement of infiltrated Afghan nationals in terrorist incidents and underscored the urgent need for the repatriation of illegal Afghan residents currently residing in Pakistan.

A report from another prominent Pakistani media outlet, The Express Tribune, indicated that in addition to the 12 soldiers, 35 terrorists have also been neutralized in the retaliatory operations.