Islamabad reiterates clear stance against TTP talks

Islamabad has firmly reiterated that no talks are being held with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), emphasising that there is no proposal for engagement with the proscribed outfit on the agenda between Pakistan and China.

"First of all, there is no dialogue taking place between the government of Pakistan and TTP," Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said, addressing a weekly news briefing in Islamabad on Friday.

"The position of Pakistan with regards to the dialogue with the TTP is very clear and has been reiterated on several occasions. Secondly, Pakistan has said on a number of occasions that the proposals to initiate talks with TTP, wherever they may come from, are an affront to the families of thousands of victims of terrorism."

"Thirdly, there is no such proposal on the agenda between Pakistan and China with regards to engagement with TTP," she emphasised.

In March this year, at least six people, including five Chinese nationals, were killed after a suicide bomber rammed into a bus transporting staff working on the Dasu hydropower project in Besham, Shangla district.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) found the TTP behind the attack and arrested its four key terrorists.

This was the second attack in the last three years on Chinese engineers working in the area.

In July 2021, 13 people, including 9 Chinese nationals, two Frontier Constabulary personnel, and two locals, were killed when their coach was bombed in the Dasu area of Kohistan.

Replying to another question regarding a meeting between Pakistan’s Chargé d’Affaires to Afghanistan and Afghanistan’s Defence Minister Mullah Yaqoob in Afghanistan, the FO spokesperson said that Pakistani diplomats keep in constant touch with the Afghan officials.

"It is the responsibility of our diplomats based in Afghanistan to engage with the officials and leadership of the Afghan interim government and the meeting of our head of mission in Kabul with the Defense Minister of Afghanistan was in this context," she stressed.

The two sides discussed matters of mutual interest, she said, noting however, "I do not believe that we should be sharing details with the media about the discussions that took place in this meeting."

Speaking on the visit of Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, she highlighted that the trip, made at the invitation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, resulted in several comprehensive agreements.

The two leaders signed several agreements and Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) focusing on cooperation in environmental protection, disaster management, halal trade, financial intelligence sharing, vocational education and science & technology, Baloch remarked.

A key outcome of the visit was the signing of the "Roadmap for Comprehensive Cooperation between Pakistan and Belarus for 2025-2027", she added.