In a newly released video message, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leader Noor Wali Mehsud has denied claims that his group is operating from Afghan territory, insisting that TTP fighters are based within Pakistan’s Khyber tribal areas.

Mehsud’s statement comes in response to recent Pakistani airstrikes on Kabul, which were reportedly aimed at targeting senior TTP figures.
Pakistan has long accused the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) of providing safe haven to TTP militants along the shared border.

“This is propaganda,” Mehsud said, dismissing Pakistan’s claims. “We are present in our own tribal regions and not on Afghan soil.” He added that allegations against the Islamic Emirate for harboring TTP operatives are “completely baseless.”

The TTP, also known as the Pakistani Taliban, is a banned militant group that has waged an insurgency against the Pakistan government for over a decade.

Following the Islamic Emirate’s return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, Islamabad has increasingly voiced concerns over what today is cross-border militancy. Pakistani officials allege that TTP fighters have found refuge in Afghanistan and launch attacks on Pakistani security forces from across the border.

Tensions between Islamabad and Kabul have escalated in recent months, particularly after a series of deadly attacks inside Pakistan which authorities blame on the TTP. In response, Pakistan has conducted airstrikes targeting what it claims are militant hideouts in Afghanistan—actions that have drawn condemnation from the Islamic Emirate.

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has repeatedly denied hosting TTP members, calling on Pakistan to resolve security issues internally.