Islamabad asks Kabul to extradite TTP leaders

Pakistan on Thursday reiterated its demand for Afghanistan to extradite the leaders of banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) while underscoring the need for bringing to justice those responsible for terrorism and maintaining regional security.

“We urge Afghanistan to take immediate and effective action against these terrorist entities, hand over their leadership to Pakistan, and those individuals who have been involved in terrorist activities inside Pakistan,” Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said at the weekly media briefing, Dawn newspaper reported.

“We have shared concrete evidence with regards to their involvement with Afghan authorities,” the spokesperson said and added that Pakistan government was “very concerned” that TTP is given a free hand to attack Pakistan, and to sponsor terrorist activities inside Pakistan.

Baloch, meanwhile, emphasised that Pakistan-Afghanistan border is an internationally recognised and legally valid reality.

Her statement came in response to remarks by Noorullah Noori, Acting Minister of Borders and Tribal Affairs, who said that Afghanistan does not have an “official border” with Pakistan.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesperson stressed the non-negotiable status of the border’s validity, stating that it has “never been on the agenda between Pakistan and Afghanistan and will never be.”

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has previously rejected Pakistan’s allegations of TTP using Afghanistan soil.