‘Avoid baseless talks’: Taliban after Pak interior minister warns about strike in Afghanistan

Two days after Pakistan’s interior minister Rana Sanaullah announced the nation will target Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)

hideouts in Afghanistan, the Taliban urged Pakistan to “avoid unfounded remarks and provocative notions.” Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, tweeted a statement on their Twitter account that read, “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan desires peaceful relations with all its neighbouring countries, including Pakistan, and believes in all the approaches that can lead to achieving this aim.”

In the statement, Mujahid said it is regrettable that Pakistani officials are making ‘false statements’ about Afghanistan. He said ‘Islamic Emirate’ is trying its best not to use the territory of Afghanistan against Pakistan or any other country. “We are committed to this goal, but the Pakistani side also has a responsibility to resolve the situation,

avoid baseless talks and provocative ideas, because such talks and mistrust are not in the interest of any side,” he added.

This latest statement comes after the Taliban rejected comments made by Pakistan’s interior minister about the presence of Tehreek Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Afghanistan. The Islamic group said that it is prepared to protect the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Last week, Pakistan’s interior minister said that Pakistan will target TTP hideouts inside Afghanistan.

When these issues arise, Islamabad will target these hideouts within Afghanistan, the Pakistani minister had stated. “When these difficulties arise, we first ask

Afghanistan, our Islamic brother nation, to remove these hideouts and give over these persons to us,” the minister had said. According to TOLOnews, the Taliban-led Defense Ministry described Pakistan’s comments as “provocative and unfounded.” The message went on to say that any conflicts or issues should be resolved by coming to an accord.

The Taliban said that such allegations damage the good relations between the two neighbours. TTP is allied with the Taliban, which seized power in neighbouring Afghanistan in August last year. The radical Islamic outfit has stepped up attacks in Pakistan since it announced the end of an Afghan Taliban-brokered ceasefire with the government in November last year. According to the Taliban, these accusations harm the cordial ties between the two neighbours. The Taliban, who overthrew the government in neighbouring Afghanistan in August of last year, are allies of TTP. Since declaring the end of a ceasefire between the government and the extreme Islamic group that had been mediated by the Afghan Taliban in November of last year, attacks by the group have increased in Pakistan.