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Pakistani Taliban Becomes the Largest Terrorist Group in Afghanistan
The Pakistani Taliban is feared to become the largest terrorist group in Afghanistan under the supervision of the Afghan Taliban and being supported and financed by the local operatives of al-Qaeda. The banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan leadership and planners have been reportedly enjoying ‘freedom’ to plan and execute any terrorist plots against Pakistan.
The nexus among the terrorist groups under the nose of the Taliban government is posing a serious threat to Pakistan’s security, but if the threat cannot be neutralized timely, this could become a serious challenge for the region and the international community. This issue could engulf the whole region. Afghanistan could face another wave of instability and violence, which the Taliban itself could not control.
The International community is now highlighting the issue; however, Pakistan has been raising the issue with the Kabul administration as well as the global community. This is a diplomatic success story for Pakistan to convince the world to look into the growing terrorist threat from Afghanistan. However, the proscribed TTP is a direct threat to Pakistan, and the group is claiming to have no global agenda. But who is providing logistical and financial support has an international agenda.
Once allies are always allied, the Afghan Taliban was enjoying the support of different local, regional, and international terrorist outfits in its fight against the USA-led NATO forces in Afghanistan. The foot soldiers of all the terrorist groups have been so intermingled that it seems a difficult choice for the Taliban to get control over them. This growing trend of terrorist groups regrouping is challenging the writ of the Afghan Taliban.
The Taliban is fighting the Islamic State of Khorasan Province or IS-KP, which has been seen as a threat to its power in Afghanistan. The Taliban had fought the IS-KP or Daesh Khorasan in the eastern and northeastern parts of Afghanistan. The group was pushed back but reports say the Pakistani terrorist groups and other allies helped the Taliban defeat IS-KP.
The UN monitoring and assessment report recently released highlighted the issue in detail. It says the Taliban flushed out the IS-KP but posed a threat to the Central Asian Republics, Iran, and Russia.
The Taliban is in a catch-22 situation, if it turns a deaf ear as it is being observed, then it is a violation of the Doha Peace Accord, where the Taliban pledged to the international community that it would not allow any terrorist group to pose a serious threat to the USA, its allies and other countries.
However, the ground realities are totally against the assurances of the Taliban leadership, it made in Doha, Qatar in 2020. The Taliban has been reaffirming its stance that it would not allow any such terrorist group to use its land, but apparently, this could be taken as mere a statement or lip service. There could be some pragmatic steps to show the world that the Taliban wants serious business.
On the other hand, the Taliban is shying to take action against the terrorist groups because of fearing any backlash or a serious challenge to maintain law and order in the regions where these groups are residing. Some of the groups had already expressed their intention to defy any strict measures by the Taliban. In February 2023, Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban delegation led by the incumbent acting foreign minister Mawalwi Amir Khan Muttaqqi agreed on a mechanism to keep the families of the Pakistani militants away from the bordering region, but it could not happen as resistance from some of the groups within the loose network of the TTP.
The Taliban fears some of the groups may side with the IS-KP, which Kabul sees as the only threat to its security. Pakistan offered a general amnesty to the Pakistani Taliban fighters to return to their native districts and surrendered to the writ of the state. No outcome of almost a year-long negotiations in 2021-22 with the TTP in Afghanistan, being facilitated by the Afghan Taliban. The Pakistani militants used the time of negotiations to regroup and reorganize their group to launch cross-border attacks.
The options to convince the world of this serious challenge are limiting. Kabul needs to clarify its position whether it is part of the problem or wants serious business with the world to make the region peaceful and developed. Whenever Pakistan raises the issue of cross-border attacks inside Pakistan, the Afghan Taliban simply reply that it was Pakistan internal issue. This is not Afghanistan’s responsibility to help.
No doubt, internal security is the responsibility of Pakistan’s security establishment. However, the question is still unanswered as to what their response is to either take action against the terrorist, posing a threat to Pakistan from the Afghan side of the border. The issue is of mutual interest and both sides should play their respective role to move forward.
The people keeping a close eye on the development in Afghanistan are calling upon the world to take it seriously to avoid any future mess. The region could not face another phase of instability, but the UN-led serious dialogue is needed to neutralize the threat from the terrorist groups. This could be of no one interest, and everyone would face its spillover effects. Peace and stability will help Afghanistan and the whole region connect economically.
