The Sunday Guardian

Pakistan asks Taliban to take action against TTP

The TTP is accused by Pakistan of carrying out attacks against its armed forces.

- ABHINANDAN MISHRA NEW DELHI

Islamabad and GHQ, Rawalpindi, are putting pressure on the Taliban leadership in Kabul to take action against the Tehrik-e-taliban (TTP) or “Pakistani Taliban” cadre and leaders. The TTP is accused by Pakistan of carrying out attacks against its armed forces.

The TTP was recently accused by the Pakistan foreign ministry of carrying out a terror attack near the Dasu dam in which Chinese citizens were targeted. Last Sunday, the Taliban cadre released Maulana Faqir Mohammad, former deputy chief of the TTP, who was in a prison in Kabul, along with hundreds of supporters, who were imprisoned in the Bagram prison and Pul-e-charkhi. The TTP later took out a huge cavalcade to celebrate their leader’s release.

Faqir Mohammad later thanked the Taliban leaders for releasing him. On 17 August, the chief of TTP, Noor Wali Mehsud, congratula­ted the Taliban for taking over Kabul and renewed allegiance to the group while describing the “victory” as the victory of the “entire ummah (community)”.

Sources, however, said that Taliban are likely to face internal conflicts if they follow the directions of Pakistani army generals to arrest or eliminate the TTP leadership and cadre. According to sources there is already “some amount of tension” within the Taliban after Pakistan asked the Taliban to take action against the TTP.

TTP and Taliban both are ideologica­lly affiliated and the cadre and leaders of both these groups are known to each other for decades and have helped each other in “difficult times”. According to sources, messages sent by GHQ, Rawalpindi, to the Taliban leadership following the release of Faqir Mohammad, have expressed “disappoint­ment and anger” with the Taliban. However, the message of Pakistan has been “kept aside” for now by the Taliban leaders who are right now engaged in other issues.

A source aware of these developmen­ts told The Sunday Guardian that there was almost no possibilit­y of Taliban taking any kind of action against the TTP as both are closely connected and if the Taliban take action against them, then it would lead to massive resentment within the Taliban’s lower cadre.

Sources said that Taliban are likely to try for a dialogue between the TTP leadership and Pakistan army generals with the intention to reach some sort of an understand­ing between the two which will entail the TTP agreeing not to carry out any attacks against Pakistani assets while in return the Pakistan army will not “disturb” them. TTP, an alliance of multiple groups, was formed in 2007 to “fight against” the Pak military. The main objective of the TTP is to secure implementa­tion of a strict Sharia system in Pakistan, the same objective as that of the Taliban.

 ??  ?? TTP chief Noor Wali Mehsud.
TTP chief Noor Wali Mehsud.

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