‘Pak looking at Af’s Taliban regime to help check terror’
NEW YORK/ISLAMABAD: Amid an uptick in terrorist activity in the region, Pakistan is hoping that the Taliban regime in Afghanistan will live up to their international commitment to not allow their soil to be used for terrorism, foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has said.
Underlining that the developments unfolding in Afghanistan have a direct impact on the lives of the people in Pakistan, Bilawal, on his first major foreign visit to the US after assuming charge last month, said that Islamabad will continue to advocate for engagement with the hardline Islamists in Kabul, particularly in light of the humanitarian crisis developing in the neighbouring country.
On Wednesday, in a meeting with a Pakistani delegation led by former ISI chief and current Peshawar corps commander Lt Gen Faiz Hameed in Afghanistan, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan militant group agreed to extend the ceasefire until May 30 on the demands of the tribal leaders.
“We continue to not only monitor the situation, but work on our side to ensure that we can try to tackle the threat of terrorism and hope that the regime in Afghanistan lives up to their international commitment to not allow their soil to be used for terrorism,” the Pakistan foreign minister said in an interview to CNN on Wednesday, when asked about the ceasefire announced between the powerful Pakistan Army and the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. Pakistan has recently witnessed a spate of terrorist activities.
On Wednesday, Bilawal met US secretary of state Antony Blinken at the United Nations headquarters in New York and talks focussed on bolstering regional security and strengthening bilateral and economic ties.