The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) – also known as the Pakistan Taliban – is allied with the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in neighbouring Afghanistan in August last year Image Courtesy AP
Peshawar: After capturing power in Afghanistan the Taliban is intent on forming yet another government. This time in neighbouring Pakistan.
In a direct challenge to the sovereignty of the Pakistan government and the country’s military establishment led by the Pakistan Army, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) – also known as the Pakistan Taliban – has announced the formation of its own government in northern Pakistan and has even declared the formation of various ministries.
“Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has announced its new appointments dividing the outfit into various ministries, Defence, Judiciary, Information, Political affairs, Economic Affairs, Education, a fatwa issuing authority, Intelligence and a department for construction,” the TTP said in a statement as quoted by its mouthpiece The Khorasan Diary (TKD) publication.
Taliban has also divided the area it claims in northern Pakistan into 2 provinces. A northern province comprising Gilgit, Baltistan and other areas bordering Afghanistan. The southern province includes districts bordering Punjab. They even claim Dera Ghazi Khan which is a district in Pakistan Punjab.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) – also known as the Pakistan Taliban – is allied with the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in neighbouring Afghanistan in August last year. The radical Islamic outfit has stepped up attacks since it announced the end of an Afghan Taliban-brokered ceasefire with the government in November last year.
An Islamabad-based think tank this week said the year 2022 ended with the deadliest month for Pakistan’s security personnel in over a decade, as it pointed to the emergence of TTP as the biggest threat to the country.
In its annual report released on Saturday, the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) said Pakistan security forces lost at least 282 personnel during 2022 in attacks that included IED ambushes, suicide attacks, and raids on security posts, mostly in the Pakistan-Afghan border regions.
“The year 2022 ended with the deadliest month (thus far) for Pakistan’s security personnel over a decade, with the emergence of a new terror triad comprising TTP, Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Daesh-Afghanistan as the biggest threat to the country,” the CRSS report said.
On Wednesday, Pakistan Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that an estimated number of around 7,000 to 10,000 TTP militants are present in the region, Dawn reported.
He claimed that the militants who had previously laid down arms have now secretly resumed activities, wreaking havoc in the region.
“The biggest reason for this is the failure of [the] Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and Counter Terrorism Department […] It is their job to stop it,” Sanaullah was quoted as saying in an interview with Dawn News TV programme.
Sanaullah said that the provincial government had failed to restrain some people who were engaged in extortion, blackmail and other crimes.
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