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