ISLAMABAD: The Afghan Taliban government have shown their willingness to address Pakistan’s concerns on the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) after Islamabad stepped up pressure in the wake of a recent surge in terrorism.
Official sources familiar with the development told The Express Tribune that Pakistan and the interim Afghan government have been in backchannel conversations to resolve the issue of the banned terrorist outfit. Those contacts have been triggered by the surge in terrorism in Pakistan particularly after the deadly terrorist attack in the Police Lines area of Peshawar in which over 100 people – mostly policemen – lost their lives.
The deadly attack compelled Pakistan to revisit the strategy pursued by the previous government, which sought to address the TTP issue through talks.
The PTI government allowed hundreds of TTP terrorists to return as part of confidence-building measures. But the move backfired as TTP members regrouped and started launching renewed attacks.
The Peshawar Police Lines attack dealt a fatal blow to the peace efforts as the civilian and military leadership decided not to seek any direct talks with the TTP. Instead, the decision was taken to raise the issue with the Afghan Taliban at the highest level.
Sources said those efforts have made some progress as the Afghan Taliban have shown willingness to tackle the issue of TTP. –Agencies
