Islamabad’s Efforts to Counter Cross-Border Attacks Yield Positive Results

Islamabad’s efforts to counter cross-border attacks have borne fruits as interim Afghan rulers arrested 200 suspected militants involved in attacks against Pakistan, Voice of America (VOA) reported, citing Pakistani officials privy to the development.

Concrete Steps Taken to Neutralize Terrorist Activity

The report said the Afghan rulers have also implemented other “concrete steps” to “neutralize” the terrorist activity.

Crackdown on Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)

The details of the crackdown on the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were shared in bilateral talks they hosted last week in Kabul with a high-level delegation from Islamabad.

Terrorist Attacks on Pakistan Army Check Posts

The talks took place after four soldiers embraced martyrdom while repulsing terrorist attacks on two Pakistan Army check posts located near the Afghanistan border in the general area Kalash, District Chitral, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on September 6.

Arrest of TTP Cadres by Afghan Taliban

The Afghan Taliban “arrested 200 TTP cadres returning from the Chitral attack. They are now behind bars,” VOA quoted an official as saying on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly interact with the media.

Relocation of TTP Members from Border

He added that de facto Afghan authorities were in the process of relocating other TTP members away from the border with Pakistan.

Promising Discussions in Kabul

Pakistan’s special representative on Afghanistan, Asif Durrani, led the delegation to Kabul, with senior military officials also accompanying him. Officials in Islamabad at the time described as “promising” their “extensive” discussions with Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and his team.

TTP Designated as Global Terrorist Organization

The TTP is designated a global terrorist organization by Pakistan, the United States, and the United Nations.

Taliban’s Order Against Cross-Border Attacks and Collaboration with TTP

Meanwhile, Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has forbidden his forces from launching cross-border attacks against Pakistan, calling them haram or un-Islamic. Akhundzada has also ordered Afghans not to collaborate with or give donations to the TTP for its so-called jihad against Pakistan and barred the militants from running donation collection campaigns in Afghanistan, Pakistani officials with knowledge of the recent discussions in Kabul told VOA.

Afghan Taliban Distancing Themselves from Criminal Activities

Officials in Islamabad, while sharing their assessment with VOA, believe that the Afghan Taliban are “consciously distancing” themselves from groups aligned with them during the insurgency but which are now involved in criminal activities in Afghanistan, such as extortion, kidnapping for ransom, and terrorism.