Haqqani says TTP is an internal issue for Pakistan to solve

The Acting Minister of Interior Affairs says that if Pakistan solves the issue of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) by force, it will harm both countries.

Sirajuddin Haqqani said during a trip to Uruzgan province that the Islamic Emirate is in favor of solving the problem of TTP through dialogue.

“Pakistan has no real problem with Afghanistan. Their problems are internal and the Emirate has left the solution of this problem open and given them enough time. If they solve this problem through force, the nations of the two sides that have a lot in common will be harmed because there is no awareness and Pakistan can solve the problems inside this country and the Islamic Emirate can help them and the government of Pakistan should pay attention to it,” said Haqqani.

Haqqani said negotiations between the TTP and the government of Pakistan had reached a critical stage but talks collapsed due to a change of leadership in Pakistan.

When the Islamic Emirate came into power, negotiations between the TTP and Pakistan government started. But “when the negotiations reached the final and critical stage, there were political and military changes in the leadership of the government of Pakistan. New people started coming and experiencing something new, but the finger of criticism is being pointed at Afghans, while this is an internal problem of Pakistan. We are not satisfied with the problem remaining in Afghanistan, we are satisfied with solving this problem,” Haqqani added.

This comes after an increase in attacks by TTP in Pakistan in recent months. Islamabad has in turn repeatedly accused the IEA of allowing TTP members to plan attacks from inside Afghanistan and has said it will target these militants.