Pakistan’s patience  wearing thin vis-à-vis TTP, Afghan Taliban told

ISLAMABAD: As a clear message to the Afghan Taliban, Pakistan has conveyed the possibility of decisive action against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), saying patience vis-à-vis the TTP was wearing thin.

The message was relayed to Kabul via Pakistan’s special envoy on Afghanistan, Asif Durrani, who is on a three-day trip to the Afghan capital. On the other hand, Afghan Taliban, after a series of meetings, have conveyed to him that Pakistan should pursue the path of peace instead of using force, according to The Express Tribune.

The Afghan Taliban offered a fresh pitch for peace talks between Pakistan and the banned TTP as Islamabad’s efforts aimed at seeking action against the banned outfit by Kabul could not make headway.

Read more: Afghan Taliban denies Pak envoy claims 

Ambassador Durrani, so far, has met Taliban acting deputy prime minister Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi among other officials.

“The issue of terrorism, as I’ve said in the past, including in the last briefing, is an issue of serious concern to Pakistan. Pakistan has raised this issue with the Afghan authorities on multiple occasions and at every important engagement that takes place between us and the Afghan interim authorities,” Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch stated at her weekly news briefing.

“We have discussed the threat of terrorism emanating from the Afghan soil,” she added when asked whether Ambassador Durrani took up the issue of cross-border terrorism with the Afghan authorities.

But despite Pakistan’s insistence on action against the TTP, the Taliban government is not ready to go that path and is instead suggesting a fresh round of talks, a process already abandoned after the TTP stepped up attacks while leveraging the earlier ceasefire to their advantage.

Kabir has tried to assure the Pakistani envoy that the Afghan Taliban government had a policy of non-interference in the internal matters of other countries and that Afghanistan would not allow its soil to be used against any other country including Pakistan – a statement that has been issued multiple times before.

Durrani is set to brief the government on his return from Kabul and give his assessment of the issue.