Pakistan can rest assured it will not have any threat from Afghanistan: Zabihullah Mujahid

Spokesperson of the Taliban, Zabihullah Mujahid, on Friday said that Pakistan can rest assured it will "not have any threat from Afghanistan".

Speaking online at an international conference hosted by the Pak-Afghan Youth Forum titled "Rebuilding Afghanistan Together", at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts in Islamabad, Mujahid said Afghanistan hopes Pakistan's help to the Afghan nation will continue "in terms of its peace efforts and increasing the bilateral trade and commerce", according to a statement issued after the event.

The spokesperson said that Afghanistan "appreciates the longstanding contributions of Pakistan towards the Afghan people".

Mujahid, who last week appeared in an interview on Geo News programme "Jirga", has said that the issue of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is one that the Pakistan government must resolve, not Afghanistan.

Show host Saleem Safi asked the spokesman if the Taliban will speak to the TTP to not engage in conflict with Pakistan.

In response, Mujahid said: "The future government will have the rightful say about this. However, our principle stance is that we will not allow the use of our soil by anyone for destroying peace in someone else's country."

He said that if the TTP consider the Afghan Taliban as their leaders, "they will have to listen to them, whether they like it or not".

The Taliban spokesman added: "The issue of the TTP is one that Pakistan will have to deal with, not Afghanistan. It is up to Pakistan, and Pakistani ulema and religious figures, not the Taliban, to decide on the legitimacy or illegitimacy of their war and to formulate a strategy in response."

In today's remarks at the conference, Mujahid also spoke of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), saying that the extension of the corridor, that links it with Afghanistan, "is very important".

China and Afghanistan's economic future

Mujahid has in the past laid great emphasis on Afghanistan's relations with China. In an interview published in Italian publication La Repubblica on Thursday, he said that the economic future of Afghanistan rests chiefly in the hands of China as it has agreed to help rebuild the war-torn country.

Mujahid was quoted as saying: "China is our most important partner and represents a fundamental and extraordinary opportunity for us, because it is ready to invest and rebuild our country."

Speaking of the New Silk Road or the One Belt, One Road initiative, that seeks to link China with Africa, Asia and Europe through an enormous network of ports, railways, roads and industrial parks, the spokesperson said that the project was held in "high regard" by the Taliban.