The Taliban delegation denied the presence of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant groups in Afghanistan during the ongoing talks with Pakistan in Istanbul, according to informed sources familiar with the negotiations.
Nargis Horakhsh, Afghanistan International’s reporter in Istanbul, said that during the second day of talks, the Taliban delegation rejected Islamabad’s claims that TTP fighters operate from Afghan soil under Taliban protection.
However, Pakistani negotiators reportedly presented photographic evidence showing the bodies of slain militants carrying Afghan identity cards, along with documents indicating that some of the remains had been repatriated to Afghanistan.
According to Horakhsh, the Taliban delegation “had no response” to the evidence.
She added that mediators and hosts of the Istanbul talks also presented verifiable intelligence confirming the presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan and urged the Taliban to end support for such organisations to ensure regional stability and good neighbourly relations.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Taliban of allowing TTP fighters to use Afghan territory as a base for cross-border attacks. Reports by the UN Security Council have also documented the presence of TTP commanders and fighters inside Afghanistan, allegations the Taliban continue to deny.
The second round of Taliban–Pakistan negotiations entered its third day on Monday, 27 October, in Istanbul. The first round, held in Doha on 17 October, took place at the level of defence ministers and intelligence chiefs from both countries and resulted in a ceasefire agreement.
The Taliban’s six-member delegation in Istanbul includes Rahmatullah Najib, Deputy Interior Minister; Suhail Shaheen, the group’s representative in Qatar; Anas Haqqani, senior Taliban member; Noor Ahmad Noor, First Political Director at the Foreign Ministry; Noor Rahman Nusrat, Director of Operations at the Defence Ministry; and Abdul Qahar Balkhi, Taliban Foreign Ministry spokesman.
The Pakistani delegation, composed of seven members, includes diplomats and senior officials from the country’s intelligence service.