Pakistan Interior Minister's recent speech "provocative and baseless": Taliban-led Defence Ministry

Afghanistan's Ministry of Defence under the caretaker Taliban regime in a statement on Monday said that the recent speech of the Pakistan's Interior Minister about the presence of Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Afghanistan and their possible attack inside Afghanistan, is considered as "provocation and baseless" by the Ministry.

According to Afghanistan's Ministry of Defence, the allegations damage the good relations between the two neighbouring and brotherly countries.

Pakistan Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah recently said that Pakistan will target TTP hideouts inside Afghanistan. "When these problems arise, we first ask Afghanistan, our Islamic brother nation, to eliminate these hideouts and hand over these individuals to us, but if that doesn't happen, Islamabad will target these hideouts inside Afghanistan," the Pakistan minister had said.


According to the Taliban-led Defence Ministry, Pakistan officials make such claims despite the existence of evidence indicating that the (TTP) centres are inside Pakistan.

"We request that any concerns and problems should be resolved through understanding, the Taliban-led Ministry", said in a statement on its official website.

Afghanistan is not without its owner, as always, we are ready to defend the territorial integrity and independence of our homeland, and it is mentionable that we have a better experience than anyone in defending and protecting our country, the statement read.

Recently, the media reported that in a direct challenge to the sovereignty of the Pakistani civilian government and its military establishment, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has announced its new appointments dividing the outfit into various ministries.

"Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has announced its new appointments dividing the outfit into various ministries, Defence, Judiciary, Information, Political affairs, Economic Affairs, Education, a fatwa issuing authority, Intelligence and a department for construction," TTP said in a statement, as quoted by The Khorasan Diary (TKD) publication.

TTP is allied with the Taliban, which seized power in neighbouring Afghanistan in August last year. The radical Islamic outfit has stepped up attacks in Pakistan since it announced the end of an Afghan Taliban-brokered ceasefire with the government in November last year.

The year 2022 ended with the deadliest month for Pakistan's security personnel in over a decade, said an Islamabad-based think tank as it pointed to the emergence of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as the biggest threat to the country.

In its annual report released on Saturday, the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) said Pakistan security forces lost at least 282 personnel during 2022 in attacks that included IED ambushes, suicide attacks, and raids on security posts, mostly in the Pakistan-Afghan border regions.