ISTANBUL

In a first since their return to power in 2021, the interim Taliban administration in Afghanistan said that over the last year, it has acted against Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TT) militants and arrested many of them.

“Today, there is no (militant) group operating in Afghanistan. There are a large number of Daesh (ISIS) captives with us, and around 35 to 40 TTP have been imprisoned by us,” Abdul Mateen Qani, spokesman for the interim Interior Ministry, told Kabul-based Tolo News on Saturday.

The statement comes amid a steep rise in militant attacks on neighboring Pakistan, which has blamed the TTP, claiming that it has hideouts in Afghanistan.

Qani said they are “obliged to ensure the security of the country, and anyone who disturbs it, we will recognize them as a criminal and will arrest them, and not allow them.”

Taliban returned to rule Afghanistan in August 2021, after over two decades of war.

The interim Taliban rulers want “good interactions with neighboring countries and will never allow Afghanistan's soil to be used against other countries, including neighboring countries,” Qani said.