Taliban government assures Pakistan to curb terrorism

DID Press: Amid escalating tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said the Taliban have assured that Afghanistan soil will not be used for terrorist activities. The remarks come at a time when Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Taliban of harboring groups such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

According to a statement by the Pakistani Foreign Ministry, the assurances were made during Dar’s meeting with the Pakistani community at the New York Consulate, where he also emphasized the Pakistani government’s efforts to increase regional connectivity through railways and trade corridors.

In recent months, cross-border attacks from Afghanistan soil have prompted Pakistan to conduct airstrikes against terrorist groups’ sanctuaries inside Afghanistan. The process of mass deportation of Afghanistan refugees from Pakistan has also intensified in this regard.

In April, Taliban Prime Minister Mullah Hassan Akhund assured Pakistani officials that no group would be allowed to use Afghanistan soil for hostile purposes against other countries. However, the distrust gap between the two countries remains.

Despite steps to improve relations, including the revival of the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) and the signing of infrastructure projects such as the Afghanistan-Pakistan-Uzbekistan railway, the threat of terrorism and the lack of transparency in security cooperation remain the most important challenges to building trust between the two countries, say regional analysts