Pakistan on February 1 reiterated its demand for Afghanistan to extradite the leaders of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) while underscoring the need for bringing to justice those responsible for terrorism and maintaining regional security, reports Dawn. “We urge Afghanistan to take immediate and effective action against these terrorist entities, hand over their leadership to Pakistan, and those individuals who have been involved in terrorist activities inside Pakistan,” Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said at the weekly media briefing. Her comments came in the backdrop of the thirty-third report submitted to the United Nations Security Council Committee by the militant Islamic State (IS) group and Al Qaeda/Taliban Monitoring Team, which showed that besides the patronage of Taliban administration, Afghanistan-based TTP enjoys the backing of Al Qaeda and also has links with East Turkestan Islamic Movement and Majeed Brigade. “We have shared concrete evidence with regards to their involvement with Afghan authorities,” the spokesperson said and added that Pakistan government was “very concerned” that TTP is given a free hand to attack Pakistan, and to sponsor terrorist activities inside Pakistan.
Further, FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch emphasised that Pakistan-Afghanistan border is an internationally recognised and legally valid reality. Her statement came in response to remarks by Noorullah Noori, the acting Taliban Minister of Borders and Tribal Affairs, who referred to the Durand Line as an “imaginary line” and contested the clarity of the border between the two countries. The Durand Line has long been a subject of contention, with Afghanistan historically disputing its legitimacy as a border. The FO spokesperson stressed the non-negotiable status of the border’s validity, stating that it has “never been on the agenda between Pakistan and Afghanistan and will never be.”