Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari Saturday assured his Afghan counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi of Pakistan's commitment to a stable and peaceful Afghanistan, a week after Islamabad decided to launch a fresh operation against the banned TTP, which it alleges has bases on Afghan soil. The assurance came as Bilawal held a telephonic conversation with Muttaqi. “The foreign minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to a stable, peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan,” Foreign Office said in a brief statement, adding that both leaders discussed a range of issues of mutual interest.
Bilawal contacted Muttaqi after a joint decision by the government and the powerful military last week to launch a fresh operation against the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). No further details were provided about the conversation which according to some sources could be part of the contact before Muttaqi’s likely visit to Islamabad. Pakistan and Afghanistan have differences over the handling of the TTP which has increased attacks inside Pakistan since the takeover of Kabul by the Afghan Taliban. In an interview with a US broadcaster, Voice of America, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that the proscribed TTP is still using Afghan soil for launching attacks on Pakistan — especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
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Asif also threatened to hit the TTP hideouts in Afghanistan if it was necessary to tackle its threat. Asif visited Kabul with a delegation in February to discuss various security issues, primarily the threat of the TTP. The TTP, which has ideological linkages with the Afghan Taliban and is also known as the Pakistan Taliban, was set up as an umbrella group of several militant outfits in 2007. Its main aim is to impose its strict brand of Islam across Pakistan. Pakistan had hoped that the Afghan Taliban after coming to power would stop the use of their soil against Pakistan by expelling the TTP operatives but they have apparently refused to do so at the cost of straining ties with Islamabad.
