Pakistan Threatens Unilateral Action against TTP
DID Press: Pakistani security sources have warned that Islamabad may consider unilateral action against Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) if ongoing talks with Afghanistan’s Taliban government fail to produce results.
According to senior security officials quoted by Pakistani media, Islamabad has conveyed its final stance during the second round of talks, stressing that continued support or tolerance by the Taliban for cross-border attacks and militant sanctuaries is “unacceptable.”
“The Taliban’s arguments are illogical and detached from the realities on the ground,” one security source said. “They seem to be following an external agenda that does not serve the stability of Afghanistan, Pakistan, or the wider region.”
Pakistani officials said progress in the negotiations now depends on the Taliban’s willingness to take “concrete and verifiable steps” to eliminate cross-border terrorism. They accused Kabul of refusing to act against factions referred to by Islamabad as Fitna al-Khawarij and Fitna al-Hindustan—terms Pakistan uses to describe militant groups operating from Afghan soil.
During the talks, the Pakistani delegation reportedly presented evidence of TTP leaders and other militants taking shelter in Afghanistan and urged the Taliban to end all support for them. However, the Taliban delegation’s resistance was interpreted by Pakistani negotiators as a sign of “foreign influence,” possibly linked to what Islamabad sees as renewed Indian involvement in Afghanistan.
Security sources warned that if the Taliban maintain their current stance, Pakistan “will be compelled to take unilateral measures” against TTP strongholds across the border—actions that, they admitted, would carry “heavy costs for both sides.”
“In such a scenario, the Taliban government will bear full responsibility for the consequences,” one official said.
Meanwhile, a Taliban government source told regional media that the Taliban delegation remains optimistic about reaching an agreement in the Istanbul talks, which are being mediated by Qatar and Turkey.
The discussions aim to de-escalate tensions following recent cross-border clashes, the most serious since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021.