The Afghan and Pakistani Taliban “collaborated” in recent attacks targeting Pakistani law enforcement forces
NEW DELHI, April 16 (IANS) It has been discovered that the Afghan Taliban are actively participating in attacks targeting Pakistan’s security establishment and law enforcement, according to a media report.
The Express Tribune reported, “Our details show that in every ‘formation’ movement, if ten TTP members are sent, five or four will be Afghan nationals.
The officer revealed that 51 Afghan militants were killed in targeted intelligence operations carried out by the army, police and the Anti-Terrorism Department during the past three months. He disclosed that “Even in the attack on the police station in Karachi, two of the terrorists involved were Afghan nationals.”
We have informed and warned the Kabul regime about the recent escalation in militancy across Pakistan and the involvement of the Afghan Taliban in these activities. We have asked them to play their part in ensuring peace and stability in our country,” the source said, adding that there are reports of further moves by the Afghan Taliban in this spring season, The Express Tribune reports.
A senior journalist from North Waziristan, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that if an attack occurred in North or South Waziristan, four out of every ten terrorists responsible would be traced back to Afghanistan. “Three of the recent ten suicide attacks in North Waziristan are from Afghanistan,” the journalist said. The newspaper “Express Tribune” that “this shows that the links (between the Pakistani Taliban and the Afghan Taliban) still exist and that the Pakistani Taliban enjoy the support of Kabul.”
According to the sources, the merger of the Taliban groups has strengthened the control of the TTP throughout Pakistan. The “Express Tribune” newspaper reported that the military committee of the Pakistani Taliban has people with diplomatic experience who have attracted dozens of armed, separatist and sectarian groups in Balochistan and Sindh.
Sources said that the Baluchistan Liberation Army signed a nice deal with the TTP in recent days, adding that this agreement is only verbal at this point because their ideology and areas of interest are different. A group of TTP from Bannu Domail district and Abu Zar Fidae from Peshawar and neighboring Bara Tahsil from Khyber tribe region also declared their alliance.
Sources said Pakistan had lost a window for reconciliation with the Taliban after the killing of a high-ranking internal intelligence officer, Brigadier General Mustafa Kamal Baraki, on March 21.
Talking about the importance of Brigadier General Barki, sources familiar with the details said the ISI officer was Pakistan’s window to the TTP and played a key role in bringing TTP leaders to the negotiating table in previous rounds of talks. According to them, he was the one who signed all the previous agreements, in particular the Kabul Agreement between the TTP and Islamabad, The Express Tribune reported.
According to one source, Brigadier General Barki met with the leadership of TTP alone about eight times and was a man who enjoyed the confidence of the group’s chief Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud. “Such was the extent of trust between the two that Mufti Nur Wali joked that he trusted him more than his brother,” the source was quoted by the Express Tribune as saying.
The source added that Brigadier General Barki always traveled to Afghanistan at his own risk and forced Mufti Noor Wali and other members of the Shura Council of TTP to enter into negotiations with assurances.
The Express Tribune reported that with the cold-blooded killing of Brigadier General Barki and military operations planned, sources said any possibility of talks with TTP is over for the time being.
With the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan, the TTP has regained its footing in the former Pakistani tribal areas.
According to former Afghan security analyst Fuad Lamay, for years the Pakistani Taliban has hosted various jihadist groups such as the Haqqani Network, East Turkestan Islamic Movement, Uzbeks, Turkmens, and Chechens. With the Taliban back in power in Afghanistan, the TTP leadership now moves freely from one side to the other, from the border regions to the mainland. He said that he is conducting meetings, and specifically received intelligence information from the Islamic Emirate (Afghan Taliban).
Lamay called the Pakistani Taliban and the Afghan Taliban two sides of the same coin, adding that “it would be a lie to think that the Islamic Emirate has severed ties with other jihadist groups.”
– Jans
san / ships /
