ISLAMABAD: Pakistan remains unconvinced by recent media reports regarding fresh assurances by the Afghan Taliban on action against the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), with officials arguing that repeated promises from Kabul have failed to produce any verifiable change on the ground.
According to Pakistani officials, the reports claimed that the Afghan Taliban leadership had conveyed that Taliban Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada warned the TTP to halt attacks inside Pakistan or risk losing the Taliban’s allegiance.
But Pakistan maintains that lasting confidence can only be built through verifiable action rather than assurances alone.
Officials say the continued presence of anti-Pakistan militant groups, particularly the banned TTP and its affiliates, on Afghan soil remains the central obstacle preventing meaningful improvement in bilateral ties.
“The problem is not the absence of assurances, the problem is the absence of verifiable action,” a Pakistani official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Officials said Pakistan’s assessment remained that there had been “no tangible shift” in the Taliban regime’s approach toward the TTP and other terrorist networks accused of using Afghan territory as operational sanctuaries.
According to Pakistani authorities, militant recruitment, cross-border infiltration, and organisational activity linked to the TTP continue despite repeated Taliban claims that Afghan soil is not being used against any country.
Islamabad believes the Taliban leadership is attempting to buy time and reduce diplomatic pressure without fundamentally altering its policy toward the TTP.
Pakistan says it has repeatedly shared intelligence and evidence regarding the presence of TTP leaders and fighters inside Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif echoed Islamabad’s scepticism during a recent interview with Geo TV, warning against trusting Taliban commitments without concrete guarantees.
“It will be very dangerous to trust them,” he said.
افغان طالبان اتنےزیادہ مکسڈسگنلزدیتےہیں کہ اُن پراعتبارکرناخطرناک ہوگا۔وہ زبانی طورپرٹی ٹی پی کوروکنےکی بات کرتےہیں مگرتحریری طورپرلکھ کردینےسےانکارکرجاتےہیں اوریہ اُنکی بری نیت کاسب سےبڑا اشارہ ہے۔خواجہ آصف pic.twitter.com/yZwgPzuPX0
— Shahzeb Khanzada (@shazbkhanzdaGEO) June 1, 2026
When asked about reports that the Afghan Taliban had conveyed a message saying their supreme leader had issued a stern warning to the TTP and threatened to withdraw the Taliban’s allegiance if attacks inside Pakistan continued, Khawaja Asif expressed deep scepticism over the credibility of such assurances.
“But they are not ready to put that in writing. That is the biggest signal or the biggest indication of their bad intent,” he said.
Asif said previous understandings brokered through third-party mediators, including Qatar, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, had failed to produce meaningful results.
“These people cannot be trusted. Their businesses are in Pakistan, their properties are in Pakistan, and their families are living in Pakistan,” Asif said.
“But they are busy cutting the roots of the very same country and carrying out bloodshed within it. They are protecting the enemies of the same country that sheltered them for decades,” he added.
“What can be more treacherous than this? Who will trust them after such behaviour?”
Khawaja Asif said Pakistan had previously entered into a written three-party agreement involving the Afghan Taliban and the United Arab Emirates aimed at dismantling TTP infrastructure and cutting off the group’s support networks.
“You will remember there was an understanding, an agreement involving a third party, in which the UAE was also involved. I think it was two or three years ago,” he said.
“We had an arrangement under which TTP funding — whether from the TTA, from Afghanistan, or from India through Afghanistan — would be terminated.”
Asif said the agreement also included commitments to relocate TTP elements and confiscate their weapons.
“They were also supposed to be relocated, and all kinds of weapons were to be taken from them,” he said.
“There were three points in that agreement. None of them worked.”
The defence minister said the agreement had been formally documented and signed, but no meaningful action was ever taken.
“This agreement is written. This agreement is signed. I am telling you with authority,” he said.
“Afghan representatives were part of it and spoke on their behalf, while the UAE — a respected brotherly country with which we have historic relations — was also involved.”
“It was a three-party agreement, but no action was taken on it. None at all. They (TTP) were not relocated, and nothing of that sort was ever seen.”
” Asif said. “There are many statements of theirs that say they are not on our land.”
“So there are so many mixed signals. It will be very dangerous to trust them,” he added.
Asif also claimed previous understandings brokered through third-party mediators, including Qatar, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, had failed to produce meaningful results.
“But they are not ready to put that in writing. That is the biggest signal or the biggest indication of their bad intent,” he said.
“These people cannot be trusted. Their businesses are in Pakistan, their properties are in Pakistan, and their families are living in Pakistan,” Asif said.
“But they are busy cutting the roots of the very same country and carrying out bloodshed within it. They are protecting the enemies of the same country that sheltered them for decades,” he added.
“What can be more treacherous than this? Who will trust them after such behaviour?”
Khawaja Asif said Pakistan had previously entered into a written three-party agreement involving the Afghan Taliban and the United Arab Emirates aimed at dismantling TTP infrastructure and cutting off the group’s support networks.
“You will remember there was an understanding, an agreement involving a third party, in which the UAE was also involved. I think it was two or three years ago,” he said.
“We had an arrangement under which TTP funding — whether from the TTA, from Afghanistan, or from India through Afghanistan — would be terminated.”
Asif said the agreement also included commitments to relocate TTP elements and confiscate their weapons.
“They were also supposed to be relocated, and all kinds of weapons were to be taken from them,” he said.
“There were three points in that agreement. None of them worked.”
The defence minister said the agreement had been formally documented and signed, but no meaningful action was ever taken.
“This agreement is written. This agreement is signed. I am telling you with authority,” he said.
“Afghan representatives were part of it and spoke on their behalf, while the UAE — a respected brotherly country with which we have historic relations — was also involved.”
“It was a three-party agreement, but no action was taken on it. None at all. They (TTP) were not relocated, and nothing of that sort was ever seen.”
Islamabad views counterterrorism cooperation as the defining issue in Pakistan-Afghanistan relations, arguing that sustainable normalisation, regional connectivity and economic integration cannot advance in an environment affected by cross-border militancy.
Pakistani officials maintain that security and economic cooperation are interlinked and that durable progress requires credible and irreversible measures against terrorist networks operating from Afghan territory.
While reaffirming support for a peaceful and stable Afghanistan, Pakistan has stressed that the security of its citizens remains non-negotiable.
Officials also argue that the international community should assess progress through measurable counterterrorism outcomes rather than political messaging, insisting that long-term regional stability depends on mutual security responsibility, respect for sovereignty and a clear commitment to denying space to militant actors.
