According to The News, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar stated on Saturday that the Afghan government has incorporated hundreds of pro-Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) elements into its administrative structure.
During a press conference at the Foreign Office, Dar, who also serves as the foreign minister, mentioned that both Pakistan and China have communicated their security concerns and have pressed Afghanistan to either take decisive action against the TTP or hand the militants over to Pakistan.
“Pakistan and China both have security concerns. We clearly told Afghanistan to either take decisive action against the TTP or hand them over to us. The Afghan government has included hundreds of pro-TTP elements into its governance fold,” he said, implicitly suggesting that bilateral relations are at a low point.
Dar noted that in a bilateral meeting with Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Kabul, he was informed that Afghanistan had established 700 border posts to stop cross-border infiltration.
“I don’t doubt their intentions, nor has there been any resistance from the Afghan side on our proposals for action against the TTP. We only had this one demand—action against the TTP,” he added.
When asked about the demarche handed to Pakistan’s ambassador in Kabul on Thursday, Dar did not directly deny that Pakistan had conducted drone strikes inside Afghanistan.
He responded that there should be an investigation into Afghanistan’s claims but added, “I have been busy and read through the demarche this morning.”
On Thursday, Afghanistan summoned Pakistan’s ambassador in Kabul to formally protest what it claimed were Pakistani military strikes in Nangarhar and Khost provinces.
In response to a question about the lack of a joint statement for the trilateral meeting between China, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, Dar explained that the methods of modern diplomacy are evolving. He said that each country speaking to its own press is as good as a joint statement. “This should not have any negative impact,” he added.
The foreign minister also disclosed that China has, in principle, accepted Pakistan’s proposal to extend the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Afghanistan and will also consider linking the Kabul to Peshawar Highway.
