Top Pakistan official claims Afghan-backed terror outfit TTP sought to control parts of tribal areas

Top Pakistani official refutes Afghan FM's claims, says talks collapsed due to TTP's unreasonable demands.

A high-ranking Pakistani official has strongly refuted Afghan interim Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi's claims that Pakistan withdrew from a deal with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan at the last minute and claimed that the talks collapsed due to unreasonable and unconstitutional demands by the dreaded terror outfit.

According to a media report, the top official said that under the guise of negotiations, the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terror group was aiming to establish its own ‘empire’ within the former tribal areas with tacit support from the Afghan Taliban.

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During an informal exchange between Afghan interim Foreign Minister Muttaqi and Pakistan’s Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayyed at the Palestine Conference in Tehran last week, the Taliban leader alleged that most of the issues between Pakistan and the TTP were resolved in 2022, according to The Express Tribune newspaper.

He contended that the only remaining point of contention was regarding the merger of the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). According to Mr. Muttaqi, Pakistan withdrew when both sides were on the verge of finalising an agreement.

However, this top-ranking Pakistani official familiar with the matter dismissed Mr. Muttaqi’s statement as absurd, stating that the Afghan diplomat’s narrative lacked veracity.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the subject’s sensitivity, explained that the talks collapsed due to unreasonable and unconstitutional demands by the TTP.