The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has rejected Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif’s recent claim that the IEA had requested 10 billion Pakistani rupees to relocate members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from border areas to other regions of Afghanistan.
In an interview with Geo News on Wednesday, Asif stated that Pakistan agreed to the request but demanded guarantees from the IEA that the relocated TTP members would not return. He alleged that the Islamic Emirate has not yet given a positive response.
“Mullah Yaqub, Amir Khan Muttaqi, Sirajuddin Haqqani, and Mullah Shirin were present in this meeting,” said Asif. “I told them that if the TTP is not stopped, we will be forced to take action, and you [IEA] should not complain. You say you will transfer them to the western provinces, but what is the guarantee that they won’t come back?”
However, Hamdullah Fitrat, the deputy spokesperson of the IEA, rejected the claim.
“We reject this claim. The Islamic Emirate has not made such a request to Pakistan,” Fitrat told Ariana News. “It is unfortunate that Pakistani officials are making such baseless statements.”
“We do not know for what purpose they [Pakistan] are making such claims,” Fitrat added.
Tensions between the two neighbors have been escalating. Two weeks ago, Pakistan conducted airstrikes in the Barmal district of Paktia province. The IEA reported that 46 civilians, including women and children, were killed in the attack. Pakistani media, however, claimed the strikes targeted TTP members.
