Pakistan has dismissed reports claiming that Islamabad sent a delegation to Kabul for negotiations with the Afghan Taliban, calling the claims misleading and part of a propaganda campaign circulating on social media.
Official sources on Tuesday rejected the reports that a three-member delegation from Pakistan was holding talks with the Afghan Taliban in Kabul amid rising border tensions.
According to the sources, several Afghan propaganda accounts had spread the claims online, which were later picked up by Afghanistan-based broadcaster Tolo News, citing an anonymous source.
However, Pakistani officials clarified that no such delegation had been sent to Kabul, stressing that the reports were baseless and inaccurate.
Pakistan’s Position on Talks with Afghan Taliban
Sources said Pakistan’s position remains clear and unchanged.
Islamabad has maintained that the Afghan Taliban must first stop facilitating militant groups linked to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) before any diplomatic engagement can take place.
Security sources stated that:
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Kabul must take decisive action against militants operating from Afghan territory.
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Pakistan will not hold talks until action is taken against these groups.
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Military operations against militant hideouts across the border will continue.
The term Fitna-al-Khawarij is used by the Pakistani state to refer to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Operation Ghazab lil-Haq and Border Tensions
The reports of alleged talks surfaced amid Operation Ghazab lil-Haq, a military operation launched by Pakistan in late February.
The operation was initiated after unprovoked firing by Afghan Taliban forces from across the border, which Islamabad said posed a direct threat to security along the frontier.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Taliban government in Kabul of providing safe havens to TTP militants following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021.
UN Reports on TTP Presence in Afghanistan
Several United Nations monitoring reports over the past two years have highlighted the presence of TTP fighters in eastern Afghanistan, particularly near the Pakistan border.
While the Afghan Taliban leadership denies providing support or sanctuary to the group, Pakistani officials insist that militant infrastructure continues to operate from Afghan territory.
