Afghanistan has rejected allegations by Pakistan foreign ministry about Tehreek-e-Pakistan (TTP) militant groups using Afghan soil to destabilise regional countries, including Pakistan.
“TTP and its splinter groups have the blood of the Afghan people on their hands and are designated as terrorist organisations in the National Threat Assessment and National Security Policy of Afghanistan,” the Afghan foreign ministry replied to the accusations made by the foreign ministry of Pakistan in a statement on Friday.
“Like other terrorist organisations, TTP has allied itself since its emergence with those fighting the government and people of Afghanistan. Over the past years, a significant number of TTP leaders and operatives have been either taken out in the battleground or captured and brought to justice in Afghanistan,” it added further.
Kabul’s remarks follow a report submitted by the United Nations Security Council’s Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team concerning individuals and entities constituting a threat to the peace and stability in Afghanistan.
On June 4, Pakistan’s foreign office said that the UN Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Report has endorsed its stance that TTP operating from Afghanistan and supported by India threatens regional countries including Pakistan.
In a statement on Thursday, Foreign Office Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui said Pakistan has been highlighting India’s sponsorship of terrorist organizations in Afghanistan.
The report had also referred to a “continued presence” of the senior leadership of UN-designated terrorist organisation Al Qaida and its affiliates in Afghanistan. It had also mentioned a large number of foreign terrorist fighters, including up to 6,500 Pakistan nationals, operating in Afghanistan
As a victim of terrorism, Afghanistan said it has striven to play more than its part in the region’s collective fight against this common enemy. The elimination of a number of top TTP leaders and the prosecution and imprisonment of hundreds of foreign fighters from TTP, LeT, JEM, ETIM, IMU, ISIS-K and other transnational terrorist group are a testament to our strong will and relentless efforts without any distraction in the fight against terrorism.
Furthermore, in the interest of transparency and regional cooperation, Kabul said it has provided access for concerned partner countries to the leaders and operatives of terrorism outfits in our custody.
“As a cornerstone of our commitment in the fight against terrorism, we have shown it transparency that Afghanistan has never allowed and will never tolerate any acts by any third party, whether state or no-state, to use Afghanistan to destabilise another country. This resolve to fight terrorism relentlessly without distinction flows from the solidarity we feel with all victims of terrorism, whether in Pakistan or India or elsewhere in the world,” the Afghan foreign ministry said.
While the fight against regional and international terrorism in all its manifestations must remain a top priority for all responsible states in our region and globally. Afghanistan is also currently pursuing a peace process where we need determined and far-sighted cooperation of all our regional and international partners, it said.
“We believe it is in the best interest of countries in the region and the international community to support the Afghan peace process as it will bring strategic gains to the international counter-terrorism and regional security efforts,” it added.
Asian News International
