Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir has said that the only points of contention between Pakistan and Afghanistan are the presence of the banned militant Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan outfit in the latter and cross-border attacks.
The remarks attributed to the army chief were carried by state broadcaster PTV News and were uttered during his Peshawar meeting a day ago with politicians from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been strained due to frequent border skirmishes and Islamabad repeatedly demanding Kabul take action against the TTP for using Afghan soil to launch attacks in Pakistan. Kabul denies the allegations.
Last month, at least eight people were killed and 13, including civilians, were injured on the Afghan side during clashes. The two sides were exchanging fire since Pakistani fighter jets bombed alleged TTP camps in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktika province.
One Frontier Corps soldier was martyred, while 11 others were injured in the clashes, which began after a failed bid by militants on the Afghan side to infiltrate Pakistan.
Addressing the issue in his talks with politicians, the army chief said Afghanistan was a “brotherly neighbour [and] an Islamic country” with which Pakistan “has always wanted” better relations.
“The only difference with Afghanistan is the presence of Fitna al-Khawarij in Afghanistan and the spread of terrorism in Pakistan from across the border, and it will remain so until they remove this issue,” the army chief was quoted as saying.
In July, the government, through an official notification, designated the TTP as Fitna al Khawarij, while mandating all institutions to use the term khariji (outcast) when referring to the perpetrators of terrorist attacks on Pakistan.
The army chief further said: “Our policy is only Pakistan.”
COAS Munir said that no large-scale operation was being carried out in KP and nor was the TTP active in any area of Pakistan, adding that only targeted operations were carried out based on intelligence.
