Pakistan on Thursday ruled out any talks with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and vowed to fight all militant outfits and defeat them, a day after a senior Afghan Taliban leader urged Islamabad and the banned terrorist organisation to sit together and negotiate for peace.
Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch was responding to a question at her weekly briefing about a suggestion to Islamabad by Afghanistan’s deputy interior minister to hold talks with the rebels.
Afghan Deputy Interior Minister Mohammad Nabi Omari, while addressing an iftar gathering in the southeastern Khost town on Wednesday, advised Pakistan and the outlawed TTP to resolve their issues through dialogue as the violence in Pakistan "is spreading to Afghanistan".
“Pakistan remains committed to fighting against all the terrorist outfits which have targeted Pakistan and the symbols of Pakistan-China friendship,” she said, adding that following the security audit and enhancement of security measures, the Chinese projects in Pakistan are functional.
To the suggestion by Afghanistan, the spokesperson instead said that Pakistan expects the Afghan authorities to take urgent action against the terrorist outfits and their leadership for the crimes they are committing and terrorist incidents they are responsible for in Pakistan.
"Wars and revolutions create widows, create orphans, destroy the country and the economy," Omari said while adding the Afghan Taliban have been through wars and revolutions.
Pakistan has repeatedly urged the Afghan Taliban to take action against the TTP fighters who are using Afghan soil to attack Pakistan.
However, Afghanistan has shown reluctance to take action against the rebels, who in the past fought shoulder-to-shoulder with them against the NATO forces.
Pakistan had provided support to the Afghan Taliban with the hope that after coming to power, they would take action against elements using the Afghan territory to launch attacks on Pakistan.
But its hopes floundered when the Afghan Taliban refused to take any action and instead asked Pakistan to hold talks with the TTP.
The talks failed and the TTP launched a ruthless campaign of terror against Pakistan.
Separately, the spokesperson condemned the terrorist attack in Iran and showed solidarity with the Iranian people, adding that Pakistan would like to work with Iran to find joint solutions to terrorism.
She also said that Pakistan would support the Palestinians' fresh bid for UN membership. She also called for international accountability of Israel for its crimes against humanity.
