Pakistan Interior Minister’s recent speech “provocative and baseless”: Taliban-led Defence Ministry
The Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTPpresence )’s in Afghanistan and their potential attack within Afghanistan, according to a recent speech by the Pakistani Interior Minister, was described as “provocation and unfounded” by the
Afghan Ministry of Defence under the caretaker Taliban rule.
The claims, in the opinion of Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense, harm the cordial ties between the two close-knit neighbours.
Pakistan Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah recently said that Pakistan will target TTP hideouts inside Afghanistan. “When these problems arise, we first ask Afghanistan, our Islamic brother nation, to eliminate these hideouts and hand over these individuals to us, but if that doesn’t happen, Islamabad will target these hideouts inside Afghanistan,” the Pakistan minister had said.
According to the Taliban-led Defence Ministry, Pakistan officials make such claims despite the existence of evidence indicating that the (TTP) centres are inside Pakistan.
“We request that any concerns and problems should be resolved through understanding, the Taliban-led Ministry”, said in a statement on its official website.
Afghanistan is not without its owner, as always, we are ready to defend the territorial integrity and independence of our homeland, and it is mentionable that we have a better experience than anyone in defending and protecting our country, the statement read.
Recently, the media reported that in a direct challenge to the sovereignty of the Pakistani civilian government and its military establishment, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has announced its new appointments dividing the outfit into various ministries.
“Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has announced its new appointments dividing the outfit into various ministries, Defence, Judiciary, Information, Political affairs, Economic Affairs, Education, a fatwa issuing authority, Intelligence and a department for construction,” TTP said in a statement, as quoted by The Khorasan Diary (TKD) publication.
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.
An Islamabad-based think group claimed that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has emerged as the biggest threat to the nation and that the year 2022 finished with the deadliest month for Pakistan’s security forces in more than ten years.
According to the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), at least 282 members of the Pakistani security services were killed in attacks in 2022,
largely in the Pakistani and Afghan border regions, including suicide bombings, IED ambushes, and raids on security stations.
