New Afghan setup expected to take steps against TTP: Pak military official

Pakistan believes the incoming "government" in Afghanistan would take "effective" measures against the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the director-general of the media wing of the country's military said.

Pakistan believes that the incoming "government" in Afghanistan would take "effective" measures against the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the director-general of the media wing of the country's military said.

During a presser on Friday, Pak's Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Babar Iftikhar said that Pakistan expected a "cordial" relationship with the new political dispensation in Kabul, The Express Tribune reported.

Pakistan has handed over a list of most-wanted terrorists affiliated with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) operating from the war-torn neighbouring country to the Taliban.

Pakistan shared the list with Taliban chief Haibatullah Akhundzada after they took control of Kabul recently, reported The Express Tribune.

Reportedly, Akhundzada had set up a three-member commission to investigate Pakistan's claim that the TTP was using Afghanistan to plot cross-border terrorist attacks.

This comes amid the fast-evolving situation in the neighbouring country.

The border crossings and other border posts are open for trade with Afghanistan as it is a landlocked country, and on humanitarian grounds, it is improper to keep the borders closed indefinitely, Director-General Iftikhar said.

Pedestrian traffic through Pakistan's South-western Chaman border crossing has swiftly increased after the Taliban's hostile takeover of Afghanistan.

"About 18,000 people are now crossing the border on a daily basis," Hameed Ullah, the head of the Coronavirus Health team at the Chaman border told CNN.

Earlier, approximately 12,000 people used to cross this border in a single day, the official added. People also informed that there is a "situation of tension at the Chaman border" at the moment and "thousands of people" are coming to the Pakistan side of the border.

Earlier this month, the Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing at Chaman was reopened on August 14 after the Taliban's forceful shutdown of the border. The terror group last month captured the Chaman crossing through its aggressive offensive against the Afghan government forces.

( With inputs from ANI )