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In a rare acknowledgment, the Taliban regime in Afghanistan has admittedrelocating families linked to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)from border areas to central Afghanistan — a move that Pakistani officialsview as further proof of Kabul’s continued support for anti-Pakistanmilitants despite repeated pledges of counterterrorism cooperation.
Speaking at an online press briefing following the collapse ofTaliban–Pakistan talks in Istanbul, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahidconfirmed that “tribal migrant families” fearing operations in Pakistanwere moved from regions near the Durand Line to “safer areas” in centralAfghanistan. He said the relocation was meant “to ensure better monitoringand security,” and that the families were settled in camps established bythe Taliban authorities.
However, Pakistani security and diplomatic officials interpret thestatement as a thinly veiled admission that the Taliban continue to harborand protect TTP-linked individuals on Afghan soil. According to Islamabad,TTP operatives and their affiliates have long used Afghanistan as a basefor planning and executing cross-border attacks targeting Pakistan’ssecurity forces and civilians.
An investigative report by Afghanistan International revealed that therelocation, conducted in January 2025, was coordinated through multipleTaliban ministries — including the Refugees Commission, the InteriorMinistry, and the Ministry of Tribes and Border Affairs. The report allegesthat Taliban authorities provided financial stipends, relocation support,and housing to families of TTP and Hafiz Gul Bahadur group members who fledPakistani counterterrorism operations in Khost and Paktika provinces.
Sources cited in the report claim that the families were registered underfalse names and granted benefits using identification cards issued by theTTP itself. The Taliban have reportedly built fortified housing compoundsfor these groups in Ghazni’s Nawa, Qarabagh, and Waghaz districts, completewith schools, health centers, and seminaries, suggesting plans forpermanent settlement.
Security for these compounds is reportedly being provided by TTP militants,who have deployed their own guards and established administrativestructures under Taliban supervision.
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Regional observers say the development directly contradicts the Taliban’sinternational commitments not to allow Afghan soil to be used by terroristorganizations. Pakistani officials have repeatedly urged the Taliban todismantle TTP safe havens, warning that their continued presence underminesregional stability.
A senior Pakistani official, reacting to the Taliban’s admission, stated:
“This only reinforces what Pakistan has consistently warned theinternational community about — that the TTP enjoys full freedom ofmovement and operational space inside Afghanistan under Taliban protection.”
He added that the so-called relocation was “a deliberate attempt to shieldTTP families from Pakistan’s counterterrorism actions while enabling thegroup to reorganize and plan new attacks.”
The latest revelation has once again intensified concerns about theTaliban’s unwillingness or inability to curb terrorist elements operatingfrom its territory, raising questions about its credibility in fulfillingcounterterrorism assurances to neighboring countries and the internationalcommunity.