Earlier this month, an attack on a police station in Daraban in Dera Ismail Khan killed at least 23 Pakistani soldiers, according to the country’s officials. A newly formed militant group, Tahreek-e-Jihad Pakistan (TJP), believed to be a splinter group of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility.
Pakistani officials now claim that the man who drove the explosive-laden truck to the police station had crossed the border into Afghanistan, implying that the attack could have been mobilized in Afghanistan. The country’s Counter Terrorism Department said on Wednesday, December 27, that the militant, identified as Sifatullah, had left Pakistan into Afghanistan through the Torkham border crossing in March, nine months before he carried out the attack.
According to Pakistani media, The News International, there is no recorded information about the attacker’s return to Pakistan. However, investigations have gathered information about his presence in different parts of the country a few days before the attack, and details about the vehicle used in the attack have also been gathered.
Pakistan has been grappling with a surge in terrorist attacks in recent months, as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant groups have intensified their violence against the country’s security forces. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan were the primary centers of violence, accounting for nearly 94% of all fatalities and 89% of attacks including incidents of terrorism and security forces operations.
TJP has been linked to several high-profile attacks on Pakistani security forces over the past few months. The group was linked to an attack in November on an air force base, causing damage to three aircraft. Moreover, it took responsibility for a July attack on a military base in the southwestern Baluchistan province, reportedly resulting in the loss of 12 Pakistani soldiers and a civilian.
This is not the first instance where Pakistan has attributed a terrorist incident to Afghanistan. Just last month, the Pakistani army claimed that a suicide bombing that targeted a military convoy in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province was executed in collaboration with an Afghan citizen. A few months ago, Anwar ul-Haq Kakar, Pakistan’s Caretaker Prime Minister, said that in the last two years, 15 Afghan citizens were among those who carried out suicide attacks in Pakistan, and 64 Afghans were killed fighting Pakistani security forces this year.
Relations between Pakistan and the Taliban regime in Kabul have soured this year, mainly over cross-border security issues and regional militancy. The Pakistani government has consistently accused the Taliban in Afghanistan of providing shelter to the leadership and militants of the TPP and other terrorists that pose a significant threat to the bordering regions between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The Taliban authorities in Kabul have refuted claims made in Islamabad, saying that they are not responsible for Pakistan’s domestic security. Kabul has also tried to broker some sort of a peace agreement between the government in Islamabad and the main militant organization fighting it, the Tahreek Taliban Pakistan, which has pledged allegiance to the Afghan Taliban. The group’s foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi said recently that the Pakistani authorities backed off from negotiations when a deal appeared within reach.
In an effort believed to aim at pressuring the authorities in Kabul into more robust action against the TTP, Pakistan has decided to deport hundreds of thousands of refugees back to Afghanistan. The Taliban who criticized the move as inhumane along with international organizations and rights groups have earmarked resources and political capital to attend to returnees’ needs. However, given the scale and depth of the humanitarian crisis, as the winter sets in, experts worry that millions will be further pushed to the brink.
