‘Ball In Taliban’s Court’: Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif On Permanent Truce With Afghanistan

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday declared the “ball is in the Afghan Taliban’s court” to establish a permanent ceasefire between both nations, a day after Islamabad and Kabul declared a 48-hour ceasefire after deadly clashes at the border.

If within 48 hours they wish to settle the matters and meet our legitimate demands, then we stand prepared,” Sharif informed his cabinet, repeating that Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) extremists have to be wiped out and Afghan soil cannot be used to attack Pakistan.”.

Sharif made his comments as tensions along the Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier increased following a week of intense fighting, which killed scores of troops and civilians on both sides. The fighting was precipitated by an escalation of TTP attacks on Pakistani security personnel, including bombings in the north-western region.

Pakistan blamed the Afghan Taliban administration for harbouring TTP fighters and giving them free rein to conduct operations from within Afghanistan a charge repeatedly refuted by Kabul. The Taliban denies allowing cross-border raids and holds Pakistan responsible for recent blasts within Afghanistan, including in the capital of Kabul.

Khawaja Asif, the Defense Minister, disclosed recently that the Taliban government have told Islamabad that the Haqqani Network is seeking payment from Islamabad for transporting the TTP militants from the border region, straining the relations further.

Ceasefire of 48 hours

The ceasefire of 48 hours started at 6 pm Islamabad time (1300 GMT) on Wednesday to address the growing violence and facilitate some discussions between the groups.  After the delay in the cessation of attacks by both parties, Prime Minister Sharif indicated, the next step should depend solely on the Taliban.

“They should come out if they are serious and honest,” said the Prime Minister of Pakistan adding that only if Islamabad is careful of our security problems, it is still possible to resolve it peacefully.
Islamabad has constantly urged the Taliban to take decisive actions regarding terror groups operating in Afghanistan from the moment they took Taliban rule in Kabul in 2021. The most recent escalation shows some of the most serious clashes between the two parties in recent months.

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