Former Iranian Ambassador to Afghanistan, Mohammad Reza Bahrami, has recently said that the Taliban’s plan to relocate Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) members in the northern regions of the country will result in security, social, and cultural crises.
Bahrami said in a tweet on Monday that he believes the Taliban would use the relocation of TTP members to the north as a “bargaining chip” vis-à-vis Central Asian states and China as a capacity to “yield insecurity” in the region.
He added that the TTP’s resurgence in violence in Pakistan and the group’s links with transnational terror groups would not end the terror-related insecurity in Pakistan.
The TTP, or the Pakistani Taliban, has resurged in Pakistan following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, raging deadly attacks against the Pakistani security forces and civilians.
Islamabad has been pressing Kabul to rein in cross-border TTP violence and complaining that the group enjoys “greater operational freedom” under Taliban rule.
Recent reports suggest that the Taliban and the Pakistani government reached a “strategic deal” where the former vowed to relocate thousands of TTP members across tribal belts bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan, triggering concerns and outrage.
While Pakistan recently welcomed the Taliban’s move, opposition groups warned that TTP relocation would have “fatal” consequences for the stability of the country.
