Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday that the Taliban have shown receptiveness to Islamabad’s concerns over the presence of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants inside Afghanistan, following recent high-level visits by Pakistani officials to Kabul.
At a weekly press briefing, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan confirmed that the issue of cross-border militant sanctuaries was raised in talks involving Pakistan’s foreign and interior ministers and senior Taliban leaders.
“Yes, obviously when the Interior Minister visits another country, security issues are at the top of his agenda,” Khan said. “The issue of sanctuaries enjoyed by terrorists in Afghanistan was a key point.” He noted that these discussions are part of a “regular dialogue” between the two countries.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s recent visit to Kabul was described as “very important,” following an earlier trip by Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister in April, which Khan said marked a “watershed moment” in the bilateral relationship.
“There is a steady positive momentum in interactions, and the quality of relations has significantly improved,” he said. “The Afghan side is showing receptivity to our concerns. Technical discussions are ongoing.”
He said that “one of the stumbling blocks is the sanctuaries enjoyed by terrorists there.”
“There is an active engagement going on between the two sides, and Afghan side is showing receptivity to our concerns communicated to them in this regard,” the spokesman said. “The technical discussions are ongoing, I cannot go into the specifics of those, but what I can broadly in political terms say is that the visit was very successful.”
Pakistan has long accused the Taliban of harboring TTP fighters, a claim the Taliban deny. A recent UN report estimated that nearly 6,000 TTP militants are currently based in Afghanistan. The group, which has waged a deadly insurgency inside Pakistan, has increased its attacks in recent months, targeting both security forces and civilians.
While Islamabad says its engagement with Kabul is improving, the issue of cross-border militancy remains a central sticking point. Khan said that while specifics of the security discussions could not be disclosed, Pakistan is “positively engaged” and sees counterterrorism cooperation as part of a broader effort to improve ties between the “two brotherly neighboring countries.”
