Afghan Taliban aware of Pakistan’s concerns, must take verifiable steps for ceasefire: senior security official

PESHAWAR: A senior security official has said that the Afghan Taliban were well aware of Pakistan’s concerns and demands, adding that the regime needed to take “verifiable steps” if it wanted a ceasefire or a dialogue.

Relations between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban are at their lowest point in the four years since the group came to power. On Feb 22, Pakistan targeted terrorist camps and hideouts overnight in the Nangarhar and Paktika provinces of Afghanistan, which led to the Afghan Taliban launching unprovoked attacks along the border last week. In response, Pakistan on Feb 26 initiated Operation Ghazab lil-Haq.

Briefing Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-based journalists at the Inter-Services Public Relations headquarters, the senior security official said that the Afghan Taliban regime was “well aware of Pakistan’s concerns”, adding that the “decision was now theirs”.

“If they want dialogue or a ceasefire, they must take verifiable steps,” the official said. “Pakistan does not wish to attack anyone; our priority remains the country’s security,” he added.

He further said that the Pak-Afghan border was the only international border that was “guarded on one side” by Pakistan, instead of maintaining bilateral surveillance.

“On the other side, terrorist elements are provided shelter in the border areas and facilitated,” the security official said.

In an apparent reference to the ongoing operation, he added that despite the prevailing situation, Pakistan was demonstrating “utmost responsibility” by minimising collateral damage.

“Civilian population has not been targeted in any operation carried out by Pakistan,” he said, adding that operations were “limited to terrorist camps and military targets”.

The official maintained that Pakistan was only targeting areas where terrorists were being provided “weapons, resources, and technical equipment”.

Recalling past attempts at dialogue in the aftermath of the October clashes with Afghanistan, the official said that three different countries played a role in working towards a resolution.

“These countries have accepted the evidence provided by Pakistan and have also convinced the Afghan Taliban that Pakistan’s concerns are absolutely valid,” he said. However, he noted that no change had been observed on the part of the Afghan Taliban.

“The reality is that there is a clear nexus between terrorism and crime in Afghanistan,” he said, adding that the Afghan Taliban were harbouring several terrorist organisations and acting as their “master proxy”.

He said that Pakistan initially carried out attacks on Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) camps. However, in response, the Afghan Taliban resorted to attacking Pakistan’s border posts set up to prevent terrorist infiltration, he said.

He said that operations aimed at dismantling militant networks and eliminating terrorists within Pakistan were also underway.

However, the official said that until the entire nation “develops a clear and unified narrative against terrorism, total eradication may not be possible”.

“The National Action Plan (NAP) was formulated with this objective in mind, so that along with terrorism, extremism and crime spreading in the society can also be curbed,” he said.

“Vacuums in internal security systems and governance further strengthen terrorism,” the official added.

He further said that Pakistan held no “interventionist agenda” concerning Afghanistan, stating that the neighbouring country’s political landscape was a matter for the Afghan people.

“We have only one clear and single stance: that Afghan soil must not be used for terrorism against Pakistan,” he said.

The official further said that the operation against Afghanistan would continue until its objectives were achieved.

“The Afghan Taliban know what our demands are to stop the war,” he said, adding that after Pakistan’s attacks, the Afghan Taliban were protecting the banned TTP and other militant groups.

He said that security forces had destroyed all 36 posts inside Afghanistan, which were being used to launch attacks against Pakistan.

Talking about KP, he said that the provincial government was serious about counterterror operations. “The provincial government is well aware of the threat,” he said.

He also talked about the targeting of the Bagram base in Afghanistan, saying that the purpose was to destroy weapons and ammunition used against Pakistan.

He further said that there was no need for a full-scale operation in KP’s Tirah, saying that security forces had targeted the bases of attacks against the country.

It should be noted that a day earlier, Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir said that peace between Pakistan and Afghanistan could only prevail if the Taliban regime “renounced their support for terrorism and terrorist organisations”.