After Tehreek-e-Pakistan killed 11 soldiers and one army captain in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the spokesperson for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan, Suhail Shaheen, has said that Pakistan “cannot dictate to us or impose its views on us”.
However, it is welcome to help the Taliban arrive at a negotiated settlement in Afghanistan. Shaheen made these remarks during an interview with Geo News on the programme ‘Jirga’ aired late on Sunday night.
When Shaheen was asked how he views the Afghan Taliban’s relations with Pakistan he said, “We want brotherly relations. They are neighbours, a Muslim country, and we have shared values — historical, religious and cultural.”
“They can help us in the peace process but can’t dictate to us or impose their views on us. And this is against international principles,” he added.
He also said that the Taliban’s demand for an Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is “a legitimate right of the people of Afghanistan”.
“We say nothing about other governments. They should not impose their views,” he said, adding: “This is not in accordance with international principles either.”
When asked if the Taliban accepts the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or considers them as opponents after the TTP emir swore Bay’ah i.e. allegiance to Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Haibatullah Akhunzada, Shaheen said. “I do not know of the TTP emir swearing allegiance [to our leader] but I will tell you the policy of the Islamic Emirate. “We will not allow the use of Afghan soil, neither by an individual nor by any group. I have said this in many interviews and I think our position is clear and known to all.”
Then came the question of the Taliban’s relations with India amid reports of meetings between representatives wherever talks were held, he said, “There has been no meeting or contact. We expect India to remain impartial. This is our struggle, the struggle of the people of Afghanistan,”.
Suhail Shaheen then went on to say that governments “come and go” and that the incumbent government “was imposed after occupation” and then said “A negotiated settlement is our policy and there has been no change in this,”.
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