KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Taliban deputy spokesperson Hamidullah Fitrat has rejected claims by Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif that the group requested funds from Pakistan to relocate members of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from border areas to other parts of Afghanistan.
Speaking on Taliban-controlled National Radio on Thursday, Fitrat dismissed the allegations as “baseless” and expressed regret over such claims by Pakistani officials.
Asif had previously alleged that during a 2022 visit to Afghanistan, Taliban officials asked for 10 billion Pakistani rupees (approximately $35 million) to facilitate the relocation of TTP fighters.
In an interview with Geo News, Asif stated that Pakistan agreed to the request, provided the Taliban guaranteed that the TTP would not return to Pakistan. However, he noted that the Taliban did not respond positively to this condition.
Relations between Pakistan and the Taliban have grown increasingly tense over the past three years, largely due to the presence of TTP fighters in Afghanistan and frequent border disputes. The TTP, which shares ideological ties with the Afghan Taliban, has intensified its attacks on Pakistani security forces, compounding Islamabad’s security concerns.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Taliban of providing sanctuary to TTP members who allegedly use Afghan territory to plan and launch attacks against Pakistan. The Taliban, however, maintain that they do not permit any group to use Afghan soil for hostile actions against other nations.
While the exact number of TTP fighters and their families residing in Afghanistan remains uncertain, Asif Durrani, Pakistan’s former Special Envoy for Afghanistan, has estimated the figure at around 6,000.
The ongoing dispute over the TTP underscores the growing complexities in relations between the Taliban and Islamabad, with security and cross-border terrorism continuing to dominate the agenda.
