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ISLAMABAD: A day after Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed to maintain a ceasefire, Pakistan’s Foreign Office said on Friday that the Afghan Taliban regime has acknowledged the presence of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Afghan soil during the recent round of talks held in Istanbul. During a weekly press briefing on Friday, Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said Afghan authorities have given “various justifications for not taking action against the TTP and other organisations like this.” He said the presence of terrorist elements on Afghan soil reinforces Pakistan’s security concerns. Pakistan’s senior government officials, he said, were actively engaged throughout the Istanbul dialogue. “There is no division or disagreement within our government on this matter,” Andrabi said. “The ceasefire remains intact, and we have noted the assurances provided by the Afghan side,” the spokesperson said. Andrabi said that Pakistan has been in constant touch with the Afghan Taliban over the past four years The spokesperson said that Pakistan hopes for a positive outcome of the next round of talks with the Afghan Taliban set to begin on November 6. “Pakistan will continue to remain engaged in the negotiations process and hopes for a positive outcome of the November 6 talks,” he said “With the Taliban takeover of Kabul in August 2021, we expected the vision of regional peace and connectivity would be realised. In the same spirit, despite our various security concerns, Pakistan took many initiatives this year to support and help Afghanistan and extended several concessions to Afghanistan, especially for Afghan transit trade,” the Foreign Office spokesperson said. On October 15, Afghanistan and Pakistan reached a ceasefire during crucial talks held in Qatar. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
