Ceasefire with Afghanistan hinges on Taliban's commitment to rein in terrorists: Khawaja Asif
Ceasefire with Afghanistan hinges on Taliban's commitment to rein in terrorists: Khawaja Asif
Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Monday said the ceasefire arrangement with Afghanistan hinges on Taliban's commitment to rein in terrorists attacking his country from across the border.
His statement comes a day after both sides agreed on a ceasefire following talks in Doha, which were facilitated by Qatar and Turkiye.
“Anything coming from Afghanistan will be [a] violation of this agreement,” Asif was quoted as saying Dawn. “Everything hinges on this one clause.”
He said that in the agreement signed by Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkiye and Qatar, “it was clearly spelled out that there would not be any incursions”.
"We have a ceasefire agreement as long as there is no violation of the agreement which is already in force,” he said.
Eliminate the menace of terrorism: Khawaja Asif
Asif has said that the primary objective of the ceasefire agreement between Pakistan and Afghanistan is to eliminate the menace of terrorism.
According to state-run Radio Pakistan, in an interview with Al-Jazeera Arabic, the minister said that terrorism has been affecting border areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan for years.
He said that both countries have reached the conclusion that immediate elimination of terrorism is essential and the two countries will make serious efforts to curb terrorism, otherwise, regional peace could face serious threats.
Asif said another meeting will be held next week in Istanbul to finalize the details of the agreement.
He said Afghan Defence Minister Mullah Yaqoob acknowledged that terrorism is the main reason behind the tensions in our relations, which will now be addressed.
He hoped that peace will now return, and relations will normalize between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
As a result, Pakistan-Afghanistan trade and transit will also resume, and Afghanistan will be able to use Pakistani ports.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have remained strained since 2023, with Islamabad repeatedly raising concerns over the use of Afghan soil by militants carrying out cross-border attacks.
The situation further deteriorated following repeated terrorist attacks by TTP, including one in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Orakzai district recently, which claimed the lives of 11 military personnel, including a Lt Colonel and a Major.
