![]() ![]() When prime minister Imran Khan was in power (2018-2022), he negotiated with the TTP, which proved unwise and politically embarrassing. Such political chaos is an incubator for terror groups such as the TTP. The Taliban does not recognize the border and considers fencing it unilateral action, taking down fencing in some areas. Meanwhile, the Taliban claims attacks on Pakistan are planned and executed indigenously.īelieving the Taliban is allowing TTP strongholds to flourish, Pakistan has resorted to alleged airstrikes on Afghan territory housing such bases, fueling dismay and animosity among Afghans.įurthermore, the Pakistan military’s fencing of the Durand Line to curb cross-border terrorism has also been a major source of tension. Pakistan claims that the Taliban has taken no serious action against militant groups on its soil except for ISIS. Severe schisms mark diplomatic relations, with government spokespersons regularly launching diatribes against one another. Even worse, after the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, Pakistan has witnessed a 51 percent increase in terror attacks.Ĭross-border fire and clashes on the Durand Line (the international border) are rising, and so is the cross-border blame game. Their sanguinity was misplaced.ĭespite repeated affirmations by the Afghan Taliban that it would not allow Afghan territory to be used by terrorist groups, this promise has not been fulfilled. Optimistically, the Pakistani government and military greatly aided the US exit, hoping the Taliban government would be sympathetic to their counter-terrorism cause. Photo: AFP Taliban Takeover in Afghanistan What allowed a crippled TTP to resurface after the successes of military counter-insurgency operations, especially Zarb-e-Azb ? Years after the military cracked down on the movement, Islamabad is trying to quell a TTP comeback after the victory of the hardline Islamists across the border. This surge in attacks poses an important question. In December, a TTP-led hostage situation in Bannu’s Counter-Terrorism Department stunned the country. In February, the TTP attacked the Karachi Police Office, killing four security personnel and one civilian. Most recently, the TTP has conducted brazen attacks on police and security infrastructure in urban centers. To prove these were not empty threats, the TTP attacked a school van, killing the driver and injuring two students.Īlthough Pakistan’s military initially asserted that the TTP’s presence in Swat was overstated, the escalating incidents forced the military to reexamine its claims. In Swat, some 125 miles (200 kilometers) north of the capital, the TTP has resorted to blackmail and extortion of local elites and politicians. TTP Resurgence: The Example of Swatĭespite clear warning signs of the TTP’s emergence in Swat, a district the military liberated from the militants in 2009, the weak government has failed to act. These tragedies not only signify how successful the “ Zarb-e-Azb ” (2014-2017) military operation was in crippling the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) but also how the country’s recent policies and actions have allowed a dormant TTP to reemerge. Similar clashes have taken place in the past along the border region as Iran and Afghanistan have for a long time been at loggerhead over the waterway.On January 30, Pakistan’s hard-won peace crumbled when a suicide attack at a Peshawar mosque claimed the lives of over 100 people, mainly police officers.īefore the attack, the capital Islamabad was rattled by a suicide bombing, the first in eight years, which killed one police officer. There are conflicting reports about the clash in Afghan local media, but Taliban and Iranian officials have not confirmed the report.Īfghan sources said local farmers began digging a canal in the Sekhsar area and Iranian border guards crossed into Afghanistan to stop them.Ī Taliban source said they responded to the incursion of Iranian border guards, which led to a gun fight during which a Taliban vehicle caught fire. The report added “heavy weapons” were used (video)and an Iranian bulldozer also caught fire during the skirmish. The report said the Iranians wanted to dredge the Sikhsar, but Taliban forces tried to stop them, saying the canal belonged to Afghanistan. According to a report published in Ettela'at newspaper on Tuesday, the hour-long gun battle erupted between the border guards over the Sikhsar (Sekhsar) water canal in the Keng district of the province. ![]()
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