The Taliban-led interim government in Afghanistan has assured Pakistani delegation of an action against sanctuaries of the banned TTP on its soil as Islamabad took up the matter of terrorism incidents with Kabul.

The promise was made as a high-level delegation led by Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif visited the neighbouring country. Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt Gen Nadeem Ahmed Anjum, Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq, Foreign Secretary Asad Majeed Khan, and Kabul mission head Ubaid Ur Rehman Nizamani were also part of the delegation.

The Foreign Office in a statement said Pakistan and Afghanistan had agreed to effectively address the threat of terrorism posed by various entities and organizations.

The delegation met senior Afghan leadership, including Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Beradar Akhund, Defence Minister Mawlavi Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani and Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.
Matters related to the growing threat of terrorism in the region, particularly from TTP and Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), came under discussion.

Both sides also agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in various fields to further enhance the fraternal relations between the two countries.

The visit cam as the South Asian country faced uptick in terrorism attack by the Afghanistan-based TTP since the militant group unilaterally withdrew from the ceasefire agreement in November last. One of the deadliest attacks by the banned group occurred last month when a suicide bomber blew himself up inside a mosque in highly-fortified Peshawar Police Lines in January. More than 100 people were killed while dozens injured in the incident.

Earlier this month, the TTP claimed responsibility of an attack on the Karachi Police Office where five people including security officials were martyred while the three attacks were killed in a swift operation.

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, during his visit to Germany to attend the Munich Security Conference, said Pakistan would continue to face high risk until an action was not taken in the neighbouring country.

While referring to the recent incidents of terrorism in Peshawar and Karachi, the minister said Pakistan was affected by such incidents. He vowed to confront terrorists on Pakistani soil while stressing that the dangers posed by terrorism could be reduced by finding a permanent solution to the problems in Afghanistan.

Bilawal said the global community should convince the Afghan interim government to take on the threat of terrorism and demonstrate its will.

Terrorism not only posed threat to immediate neighbours of Afghanistan but also to the West, he cautioned.

Pakistan had helped Afghanistan in the past and would continue to do so as it had hosted the largest number of Afghan refugees on its soil, he said, adding that the international community could not wash their hands and turn away from Afghanistan.