File photo of Afghanistan acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi
Acting Afghanistan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Monday advised Pakistan to revive peace talks between Pakistan and the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) while denying that the militant group is using Afghan soil to stage attacks across the border.
“As for Pakistan’s security concerns, we ask that the Government of Pakistan and the TTP sit together and find a solution to these problems on their own,” he said at an event at the Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad. Hoping all issues would be resolved through dialogue, he claimed challenges could be turned into opportunities and trade and economic cooperation between the two nations boosted. He explained that the Afghan government had managed to double trade with Pakistan from $1.1 billion to $2.4 billion in the past year and hoped to boost it further to $5 billion.
The Afghanistan minister’s statement comes amid growing sentiment within Pakistan to tackle the militants through targeted military operations, with local residents in the country’s north repeatedly staging protests against any resumption of talks. The recent resurgence of terrorism nationwide was triggered by the collapse of ceasefire that the TTP unilaterally ended in November 2022.
To a question, Muttaqi denied that the TTP was using Afghan soil to carry out attacks in Pakistan. “The Islamic Emirate has fulfilled its responsibility. [Afghanistan] was able to bring both sides to the table. We hosted the talks between Pakistan and the TTP,” he said, adding further that the TTP was not a new movement that arose in the wake of the Taliban returning to power in Kabul.
Noting that Pakistan had said it had lost 80,000 citizens to terrorism since 2001, he claimed his government was working to ensure peace in the region. “We do not want the flames of war in our neighboring country, Pakistan. There should be no bloodshed in Pakistan. This is our official policy,” he added.
To another question, he said he had discussed ways to make progress on security issues during his four-day visit to Pakistan. “We have talked to Pakistani officials about this issue. We will keep on talking to Pakistan. It will be our request that problems should be resolved through diplomatic channels and negotiations. There are hopes that the situation will further improve in the future,” he added.