Terrorism to end if Kabul shuts TTP havens: Asif

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on Monday that Afghanistan was the source of recent wave terrorism in Pakistan, warning that this cycle would continue until Kabul shut down the training camps and safe havens of the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) there.

Talking to journalists in the Parliament House, Asif said that he himself had visited Afghanistan with a delegation in the past and requested the Taliban leaders to stop terrorism in their neighbourhood.

However, he added, the solution presented by the Afghan side was not workable.

The minister stressed that the Pak-Afghan border should be the same as the other international borders around the world. “People come to Pakistan from Afghanistan on visa and do business here,” he said, adding that this international status of the border was not being respected by Afghanistan.

Asif reminded that Pakistan had allowed transit of goods from Afghanistan to India. “We have fought wars and rendered sacrifices for Afghanistan. But with the ever-changing attitude of the Afghan government, our options for them are limited.”

Read more: https://tribune.com.pk/story/2461339/terrorism-to-end-if-kabul-shuts-ttp-havens-asif