Pakistan urges Taliban administration to take verifiable action against armed groups
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has called on the Taliban administration to take “concrete, practical and verifiable” action against armed groups active in Afghanistan, at an informal meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) ministerial council in New York. He said the threat of terrorism from Afghan territory has posed a serious challenge to peace, development and regional connectivity.
Referring to Islamabad’s security concerns, Dar stressed that the Taliban administration must act to contain Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA). He said Pakistan’s only expectation is that the Taliban administration deal responsibly and seriously with groups he said threaten Pakistan’s territorial integrity and the lives of its citizens.
The Pakistani foreign minister also said lasting security is a prerequisite for any kind of economic and transit cooperation in the region. Alongside referring to Islamabad’s policy of “constructive engagement” with Kabul and trade facilitation for Afghanistan, he emphasized expanding economic, transit and digital cooperation within the ECO framework.
According to Dar, Pakistan is ready to facilitate movement, issue visas and promote digital integration to help connect Central Asia to warm waters through its territory. He described this as part of the region’s economic potential.
The statement came as Pakistani officials have in recent weeks also levelled similar allegations against the Taliban administration several times. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif previously warned at the UN General Assembly about the activities of the TTP and Baloch separatists from Afghan soil, and urged the Taliban administration to honour its international commitments and protect the rights of Afghan women and girls.
The Taliban administration has so far not responded to Dar’s latest remarks. However, officials from the administration have previously claimed in similar cases that Afghan territory is not being used against any country and that insecurity in Pakistan has domestic roots.
The Economic Cooperation Organization, or ECO, is a regional body made up of 10 countries that focuses on economic, transit and development cooperation among its members. Afghanistan and Pakistan are both members of the organisation, and the security of regional routes has in recent years become one of the recurring themes in discussions linked to economic cooperation.
