KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The government of Pakistan struggles to contain the radical insurgency Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) burgeoning within its border. Islamabad’s regional proxy, the Taliban who rule over Afghanistan claims that it fights the Islamic State and its regional affiliates. The two allies now are falling out as Pakistan asks the Taliban to treat the TTP, which has pledged allegiance to the Taliban leadership in Afghanistan, as a terror organization. Kabul, however, has been reluctant to act.
As reported by Pakistani media outlet The Express Tribune, many countries in the region and beyond consider ISIS, also known as Daesh, an immediate threat, while viewing TTP as Pakistan’s internal problem. This perspective makes it difficult for Islamabad to gather the necessary support against the militant group.
“Against the backdrop of ongoing surge in terrorist attacks in Pakistan, authorities are briefing key stakeholders about the TTP posing a threat to their interests,” the media outlet quoted its source. “One of the arguments Pakistan is making with those countries is that both the TTP and Daesh are the same,” it added.
The Afghan Taliban, however, has close ties with the TTP while it claims to vehemently fight IS-K. Leaders of the TTP have reportedly settled in Afghanistan’s border areas the same way the Taliban used Pakistan’s tribal belt as sanctuaries for its insurgency against the former government in Afghanistan.
Following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, Pakistan has experienced a surge in terrorist attacks. Militant groups like the TTP and its affiliates, which share ideological, operational, and personal alignment with the Afghan Taliban, have escalated their violence against Pakistan’s security forces and civilians.
Pakistan claims that members of the militant groups are hiding in Afghanistan, receiving training and advanced military weapons to launch cross border attacks and destabilize the region. The country has consistently demanded the regime in Kabul to take decisive actions against the militant group and surrender them to Islamabad.
Earlier, Pakistan’s Defense Minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, stressed that the problem of terrorism in his country would persist until the Taliban shut down the training camps and safe havens of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Afghanistan.
Mr. Asif said that Afghanistan remains the source of the recent wave of terrorism in Pakistan, underscoring that this cycle will persist until the Taliban take action against the TTP.
Pakistan’s authorities also claim that militant groups in Afghanistan, particularly the TTP, have acquired the US-made military equipment and are actively working to destabilize the region.
Mohammad Ali Durrani, a former Pakistani senator and federal minister, previously cautioned that the possibility of another 9/11 cannot be dismissed unless the flow of advanced weaponry to terrorists is curtailed.
“A new war is being orchestrated against Pakistan through the latest American arms,” he said. “In such circumstances, the US should support Pakistan with the latest technology in the war against terrorism. “It is the interest of the US to play a role for peace in the region,” he said.
As concerns arise about the capabilities and terrorist activities of the ISIS affiliate based in Afghanistan (IS-KP) following its recent terrorist attacks in Iran and Moscow, Pakistan is now trying to persuade the international community that the TTP poses as much of a threat as ISIS does. The hope is that the international community will not overlook TTP insurgencies in the country.
According to the report, this effort is also part of Pakistan’s attempt to remind the world that the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan is once again becoming a safe hub for international terrorist groups.
