Pakistan says ceasefire hinges on Afghanistan curbing armed groups

Pakistani Defence Minister Asif says Pakistan Taliban operates ‘in connivance’ with Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban.

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has said that his country’s fragile ceasefire statement with Afghanistan depends connected whether the second reins successful equipped groups attacking crossed their shared border.

“Everything hinges connected this 1 clause,” said Asif successful an interrogation with quality bureau Reuters connected Monday, aft the 2 countries reached a ceasefire statement brokered by Qatar and Turkiye the erstwhile day.

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The truce followed a week of deadly borderline clashes that saw relations plummet to their lowest constituent since Afghanistan’s Taliban returned to powerfulness aft the exit of US and NATO troops from the state successful 2021.

The fighting was triggered aft Islamabad demanded that Kabul power fighters from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella of respective equipped groups commonly known arsenic the Pakistan Taliban, saying they operated from havens successful Afghanistan.

“Anything coming from Afghanistan volition beryllium [a] usurpation of this agreement,” said Asif, who led the talks with his Afghan counterpart Mullah Muhammad Yaqoob. He said that the written statement stipulated determination would not beryllium immoderate incursions.

The curate said that TTP operated “in connivance” with Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban, an allegation that the second has denied. Afghanistan accuses the Pakistani subject of spreading misinformation and sheltering ISIL (ISIS)-linked fighters to undermine its stableness and sovereignty.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesperson, said that nether the presumption of the agreement, “neither state volition undertake immoderate hostile actions against the other, nor volition they enactment groups carrying retired attacks against the Government of Pakistan”.

Mujahid said the countries had agreed connected refraining “from targeting each other’s information forces, civilians, oregon captious infrastructure”.

The Pakistan Taliban, which has been waging a warfare for years against Islamabad successful a bid to overthrow the government, has accelerated attacks successful caller months to people Pakistan’s military.

Pakistan information officials said the subject carried retired aerial strikes connected the Afghan superior Kabul, including 1 connected October 9 successful an effort to termination Pakistan Taliban person Noor Wali Mehsud, though helium aboriginal appeared successful a video showing helium was alive.

“We were being attacked. Our territory was being attacked. So we conscionable did tit for tat. We were paying them successful the aforesaid coin,” Asif said.

“They are successful Kabul. They are everywhere. Wherever they are, we volition onslaught them. Kabul is not, you know, a no-go area.”

The adjacent circular of talks is scheduled to beryllium held successful Istanbul connected October 25 to germinate a mechanics connected however to enforce the agreement, Asif said.