PESHAWAR: President Arif Alvi said on Tuesday his country wanted similar assurances from the Afghan Taliban that had been extended by the insurgent group to the United States and China about not allowing any faction to use the Afghan soil to target the two countries.
The Afghan insurgent group victoriously returned to Kabul last Sunday five months after US President Joe Biden announced a complete pullout of international forces from Afghanistan.
Prior to that, the world witnessed an unraveling of the administration in Kabul after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled to Tajikistan, saying he was leaving the country to “prevent flood of bloodshed” as the Taliban started rolling into the Afghan capital city.
“We will always like assurances, the ones which were given to China and the United States, that the Afghan territory will never be used against any other country,” the president was quoted as saying by the Associated Press of Pakistan during an interview with a Turkish news channel.
He added he was “very hopeful” the Afghan Taliban would adopt similar attitude toward Pakistan.
Meanwhile, a proscribed militant network that has been accused by Pakistani officials of targeting their country from Afghanistan issued a congratulatory message for Afghan Taliban, applauding the insurgent group for its “historic victory” while expressing allegiance to its top leadership.
The statement was issued by Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella group of various armed Islamist factions from Pakistan’s northwestern tribal region who were inspired by the Afghan Taliban and took up arms against their own country.
“On behalf of TTP mujahedeen [warriors], I congratulate Amir Al-Mu’minin [Commander of the Faithful] Maulana Haibatullah Akhundzada on the historic and blessed victory. I also extend congratulations to Maulvi Muhammad Yaqoob and head of [the Taliban] political office Mullah Baradar, their team, the Mujahid Afghan nation and the entire Muslim Ummah,” Mehsud said in his statement.
He also pledged full support to the Afghan Taliban and its political office and leadership in Doha.
“On this auspicious day, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan renews allegiance to Islamic Emirate with a pledge to render all sacrifices for the strengthening of Islamic Emirate,” he continued. “We deem this to be our Islamic duty.”
Commenting on the TTP statement, Adnan Bhittani, a security expert in Peshawar, maintained the network of Pakistani militants was likely to gain strength in the coming days.
“I think the TTP will become stronger following the release of prisoners by Afghan Taliban in recent days because most of the freed inmates were TTP fighters such as Maulvi Faqeer Muhammad, a former insurgent leader from Bajaur tribal region, who has a great say within the group,” he said.
Bhittani said there was already “a visible spike in violence” in North and South Waziristan tribal districts in Pakistan, adding that controlling the TTP would require the administration in Islamabad to develop better relations with the new Afghan government that was likely to be led by the Taliban.
However, Hikmat Safi, a Kabul-based freelance journalist, took a different view of the situation, saying all foreign fighters, including the TTP leaders, would have to leave the Afghan territory due to the international commitments made by the Afghan Taliban.
“They [the TTP and other fighters] will have to leave because there will be no space for them over here anymore,” he said. “However, it is yet to be seen how and when they will leave since Afghanistan has large territory which can make it almost impossible for the Taliban to govern the mountainous regions of their country.”