UPDATE - Islamabad to relocate outlawed Pakistani Taliban to western Afghanistan

UPDATES WITH COMMENTS FROM FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON

By Muhammet Nazim Tasci

ISTANBUL (AA) - Kabul and Islamabad have agreed on a plan to relocate members of the Pakistani Taliban, also known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), to western Afghanistan, according to a source.

“The two countries have reached a shared understanding regarding the project, but no practical measures have been taken to implement it thus far,” a senior security official of Pakistan told Anadolu on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The funding for the relocation will be provided by Pakistan, the official added.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch declined to comment on the report during a weekly press briefing in Islamabad on Thursday.

Responding to a query, she said: "I would not like to go into specifics on this particular issue. We are engaged with the Afghan interim government on the serious concerns that Pakistan has about the menace of terrorism."

"Our regular engagement is an ongoing process. All aspects of countering this menace remain under discussion between the two sides. Besides it is not appropriate for us to make comments on any such media statements," she said.

She said Islamabad is looking forward to working "closely" with Afghan side to counter the terrorist threat.

The TTP, which causes frequent tensions in the relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, is often on the agenda because of the attacks it has carried out against civilians and security forces in Pakistan, the official added.

Islamabad remains unconvinced that the Taliban's interim administration, in control of Afghanistan since August 2021, has fulfilled its promise to prevent terrorist attacks originating from within its territory.

- Alerts and airstrikes

Pakistan and the TTP have held several peace talks and reached various cease-fires since the outlawed group's inception in 2007. However, they were short lived with both sides accusing each other of violating the agreements.

In April 2022, the official said, Pakistan carried out an airstrike on TTP targets in Afghanistan.

The official highlighted the nexus between the TTP and Afghan Taliban against the US.

Because of a similar sense of loyalty toward Pakistan, the Afghan Taliban proposed relocating TTP members to Afghanistan.

The official said the interim Taliban government wants to disarm TTP members and relocate them to western Afghanistan but they neither have the money nor infrastructure for the move.

“Pakistan can afford this, both in terms of infrastructure and other issues,” the security official added.

- Increase in terrorist attacks

Since the Taliban assumed control of Afghanistan in August 2021, there has been an increase in TTP attacks on Pakistan. The Pakistani army recorded 436 terrorist attacks in the first four months of 2023, resulting in the loss of 293 lives, including 137 security personnel.

Pakistan witnessed 506 terrorist attacks in 2022, resulting in 601 fatalities and 741 injuries, according to data from the Islamabad-based think tank, the Center for Research and Security Studies. Among the victims, 290 were security forces and 311 were civilians.

TTP claimed responsibility for many attacks in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border regions.

The border between Pakistan and Afghanistan spans 2,670 kilometers (1,659 miles) and includes 18 designated points of entry.

Tensions between the two neighbors rose after the Taliban removed border fencing at some points along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, resulting in an increase in TTP terrorist attacks inside Pakistan in recent months.

*Aamir Latif also contributed to this report from Karachi

*Writing by Necva Tastan in Istanbul​​​​​​​