PAKISTAN WITHDRAWS SUPPORT FOR AFGHAN TALIBAN: REPORT

In a major policy shift, Pakistan has decided not to support the Afghan Taliban’s case at the international level or extend any other assistance following Kabul’s failure to neutralise the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terror group, according to a media report on Thursday.

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At the same time, Islamabad will no longer extend any “special privileges” to the interim Afghan Taliban government in a move that suggests a deterioration in relations between the two neighbours, the newspaper reported.

The TTP, which has ideological linkages with the Afghan Taliban and is also known as the Pakistan Taliban, was set up as an umbrella group of several militant outfits in 2007.

Its main aim is to impose its strict brand of Islam across Pakistan. Pakistan had hoped that the Afghan Taliban after coming to power would stop the use of their soil against Pakistan by expelling the TTP operatives, but they have apparently refused to do so at the cost of straining ties with Islamabad.

The Express Tribune newspaper reported that the immediate implication of Pakistan’s apparent shift in its policy is that the chances of the Afghan Taliban government getting international recognition have become far slimmer than ever.