Dar asks Taliban to hand over TTP militants or move them out of Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has said that he conveyed a clear message to Taliban, urging them not to allow Afghan soil to be used against Pakistan and hand over Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants to Pakistan or move them elsewhere.

Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, he said that “I made it clear in Kabul that Afghanistan must not allow its soil to be used against Pakistan. They should either hand over TTP militants to us, or move them far away,” Dar said.

He said that before his visit to Russia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had already sent a formal communication regarding planned meetings with the Russian administration, which led to separate bilateral discussions with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk.

He said that several Russian ministers were also present during the meeting with the deputy prime minister.

He stated that after many years, a Pakistani leader had met the President of the European Union. Since 2021, Pakistan-EU talks had remained suspended for almost five years, but the recent meeting with senior EU representatives was extremely important and took place in a friendly and open atmosphere.

Dar said the visit helped bridge the gap that had persisted in Pakistan’s engagement with the EU, and the seventh strategic dialogue proved to be highly significant. He added that discussions with the EU covered all areas of bilateral relations, including trade, economic matters, GSP Plus, Afghanistan, security issues, India and other matters.

He said he informed the EU leadership that he had undertaken a personal visit to Afghanistan, where he held detailed discussions with the Afghan leadership on all key issues, and conveyed Pakistan’s stance clearly.

Earlier, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director-General Lt-Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry clarified that Pakistan’s operations are exclusively directed against terrorism, not the Afghan people, and categorically denied any cross-border attacks on Afghanistan. “If Pakistan were to carry out an attack, it would do so openly, not secretly,” he asserted.

He said that Khawarij terrorists are using advanced American weaponry left in Afghanistan to carry out attacks inside Pakistan, including the recent assault on the Wana Cadet College.