Asif Ali Durrani, Pakistan’s former special envoy to Afghanistan, has claimed that the Taliban are issuing weapons permits to members of Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), enabling their activities within Afghanistan.
Speaking at the Ambassadors’ Lounge, Durrani suggested that the Taliban is facilitating TTP operations, though they publicly deny these associations.
Durrani stated that Afghanistan continues to struggle with security challenges and suggested that the Taliban could either take action against groups like ISIS, TTP, and others or accept offers of cooperation from neighboring countries to combat terrorism.
While he did not specify the nature of this cooperation, Durrani highlighted that groups like ISIS-Khorasan pose a threat across borders, having conducted attacks in Pakistan, Iran, and Central Asia.
In a separate event at the Pashtun Tribal Justice Jirga in Khyber, Mohsin Dawar, leader of Pakistan’s National Democratic Movement, accused the Taliban of being controlled by Pakistan and urged Pashtuns to work toward a Taliban-free Afghanistan. Dawar argued that Afghanistan’s security and sovereignty must be restored for Pashtuns to gain respect and peace worldwide.
The Taliban have denied these allegations, asserting that groups like TTP do not operate with their support and instead accused Pakistan of providing training grounds for ISIS-Khorasan in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region. Nonetheless, UN reports have raised concerns over the presence of terrorist groups, including TTP, al-Qaeda, and ISIS, within Afghanistan under Taliban rule, signaling potential threats to regional stability.
