Pakistan’s Caretaker Prime Minister, Anwar ul Haq Kakar, has reiterated his call on the Taliban to either act against terrorists using Afghanistan soil to attack Pakistan or hand them over to Islamabad.
During an interview with Pakistani Geo News, Kakar said that the Taliban is aware of the hideouts of the Tahreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militia in Afghanistan and that both countries should think honestly about what they expect from each other.
Terror attacks in Pakistan increased by 79% in the first half of 2023, according to a report by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS). This is a significant increase from the same period last year. Pakistan has blamed the Taliban for the recent spike in violence and has asked the regime in Kabul to do more to stop cross-border attacks. Earlier, Kakar said that terrorist attacks in his country have increased by 60 percent since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021. Since then, some 2,300 people have been killed in these attacks.
The TTP was founded in 2007 and is ideologically aligned with the Taliban in Afghanistan. Among its many demands, the group seeks stricter enforcement of Islamic laws, the release of its members in government custody, and a reduced Pakistani military presence in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
In the aftermath of the collapse of the republic government in Kabul, both security establishment and conservative segments of the population in Pakistan initially celebrated the departure of the United States and its allies. However, recent developments have revealed the negative consequences of a Taliban-led government. Pakistan is currently facing a number of challenges, including a severe economic downturn, political instability, and the effects of last year’s devastating floods. The country’s fragile relationship with the Taliban in Afghanistan further exacerbates these problems.
Jan Achakzai, Balochistan caretaker Minister for Information has recently warned the Taliban of the consequences of inaction against TTP militia adding that if there was no letup in militant activity from Afghanistan, Pakistan would “go into terrorist hideouts and teach them a lesson.” Addressing a press conference in Balochistan, Achakzai said that his country had been hosting a large number of Afghan refugees for the last 40 years. “But in return, instead of discouraging terrorism and terror, it is concerning that they are being given militant hideouts and advanced weaponry.”
The increase in terrorist incidents in Pakistan has made life difficult for Afghan refugees who have been living in the country for decades. Pakistan has recently begun a widespread crackdown on 1.7 million undocumented Afghan refugees. According to the UN, more than 327,000 Afghan refugees have been expelled as of November 11, with an average of over 17,000 crossing the border each day. Most of the returnees are women and children. This is happening at a time when Afghanistan is facing one the worst humanitarian crises in the world, with millions of people in urgent need of help. Despite numerous calls from human rights groups and countries, Pakistan has maintained its actions, calling them counter-terrorism efforts.
