Islamabad (January 31, 2018): Pakistan handed over 27 individuals suspected of having ties to the Tehreek-i-Taliban Afghanistan (TTA) and Haqqani Network to Afghanistan last year, Foreign Office (FO) spokesman Dr Mohammad Faisal revealed on Tuesday.
In a series of tweets, the FO spokesman said Pakistan is continuing to push any suspected Afghan Taliban and Haqqani elements with a view to “prevent them from using our soil for any terrorist activity in Afghanistan”.
Pakistan continues to push any suspected TTA & HN elements to prevent them from using our soil for any terrorist activity in Afghanistan
— Dr Mohammad Faisal (@DrMFaisal) January 30, 2018
The suspected militants were handed over to Afghanistan in November 2017, he said.
In this context, 27 individuals suspected of belonging to TTA & HN have been handed over to Afghanistan in November 2017
— Dr Mohammad Faisal (@DrMFaisal) January 30, 2018
The revelation comes as Afghanistan reels from a series of assaults by Afghan Taliban and militant Islamic State (IS) extremists that have put security and intelligence failures in the spotlight.
Pakistan has sacrificed 75,000 civilians & 6000 soldiers to the scourge of terrorism (we have one of the highest officer-to-soldier casualty rate globally) and suffered economic losses worth USD 123bn
— Dr Mohammad Faisal (@DrMFaisal) January 30, 2018
Faisal also mentioned that Pakistan has lost “75,000 civilians and 6,000 soldiers to the scourge of terrorism and suffered $123 billion in economic losses”.
“We have one of the highest officer-to-soldier casualty rate[s] globally,” he wrote. Separately, in an interview, the FO spokesman said the Quadrilateral Coordination Group comprising Pakistan, Afghanistan, the United States and China is the most appropriate forum to promote the Afghan peace process.
Peace could not be achieved in Afghanistan in the past 17 years despite the use of all sorts of weapons and ammunition, Faisal said, adding that the Afghan conflict can only be addressed through dialogue as military strategy has failed to prove fruitful.
