Islamabad, Kabul discuss thorny border issue, Pakistani militants in Afghanistan

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD (AA) – Senior officials from Pakistan and Afghanistan met on Wednesday to discuss the security situation along the two countries' border, following an increase in the number of attacks on security forces in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The Pakistan Afghanistan Joint Committee (PAJC) meeting was held in Islamabad, Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement posted on the interim government official website Alemarah.

Mullah Muhammad Shirin Akhund, the acting minister of strategic intelligence in the Ministry of Defense and the acting governor of Kandahar province, led the Afghan delegation to the meeting.

"The primary focus of this gathering was to address potential conflicts along the Durand Line, the border shared by the two countries. Additionally, the committee aimed to establish facilities that would benefit the people residing on both sides of the border," Mujahid said in the statement.

Akhund and his delegation arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday to meet with Pakistani military and civilian officials. However, the Pakistani side has yet to issue a statement regarding the meeting.

Earlier, Pakistani media reported that Akhund's visit was part of Afghan interim government efforts to resolve ongoing tensions between the two neighbors over the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan (TTP) issue.

The TTP is a conglomeration of several Pakistani militant groups that Islamabad claims are currently inside Afghanistan and attacking security forces and law enforcement from across the border, which Kabul has repeatedly denied.

Islamabad has accused Kabul's interim administration of allowing the TTP to plot and carry out subversive attacks within Pakistan. However, the Afghan Taliban claim that they are neither allowing nor will permit the use of Afghan soil against Pakistan or any other country.

Pakistan has seen a rise in terrorist attacks over the last several months.

According to the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), an Islamabad-based think tank, 789 terrorist attacks killed 1,524 people and injured 1,463 others in Pakistan last year.

"This includes nearly 1,000 fatalities among civilians and security force personnel. The overall fatalities, including those of outlaws, mark a record six-year high, exceeding the 2018 level and the highest since 2017.

“Moreover, the country saw a surge in violence for the third consecutive year with an uptick recorded each year beginning from 2021," the CRSS stated in its annual report released on Sunday.