Pakistan on Monday claimed that more than 5,000 militants of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were present in Afghanistan, a day after Kabul denied the presence of the banned terror outfit in the war-torn country.
“The assertions of the Afghan side are contrary to facts on ground and various reports of the UN, which also corroborate the presence and activities of over 5000-strong TTP in Afghanistan,” Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudri said.
He made the remarks in response to the media queries about the Afghan Foreign Ministry statement, which said that the TTP “is neither founded in Afghanistan nor operates on our soil.”
“This movement along with other terrorist groups is recognised as the enemy of peace, stability, and prosperity in Afghanistan and the region, and the Afghan government fights against this terrorist outfit like any other terrorist group without discrimination,” the Afghan Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.
Afghanistan has “consistently stressed upon implementation of UNSC resolutions and Doha agreement which calls on Taliban to cut ties with regional and international terrorist groups including the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), The East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), Al-Qaeda and ISIS,” it said.