ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will request the Taliban’s supreme leader in Afghanistan to control militants operating in Pakistan after several police officers were killed in a mosque in Peshawar. Officials have made this announcement.
According to an ‘AFP’ report there has been a sharp increase in attacks in the areas bordering Afghanistan in Pakistan, where militants have been carrying out raids and captures, since the Taliban regained power in Kabul.
A faction of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has been blamed by authorities for a blast that took place on January 30 in Peshawar and resulted in the death of over 100 people in a mosque located inside a police compound.
The TTP shares a similar lineage and ideology with the Afghan Taliban, led by Haibatullah Akhundzada who gives orders from his base in Kandahar.
Delegation of Pakistan
Delegations will be sent to Tehran and Kabul by Faisal Karim Kundi, the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister, to “ask them to ensure that terrorists do not use their soil against Pakistan”.
An official from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa who wished to remain anonymous stated that the delegation sent to Kabul would meet with the Afghan Taliban’s top leadership, referring to Afghan Taliban chief Haibatullah Akhundzada.
However, the Afghan Taliban did not provide any comments in response to ‘AFP’s request for a statement.
Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, recently warned Pakistan not to blame others and instead focus on the problems within their own country.
During the 20-year US intervention in Afghanistan, Islamabad was often accused of providing secret support to the Afghan Taliban. However, since the Taliban took over Kabul in 2021, their relationship with Pakistan has been strained, partially due to the resurgence of the TTP.
Insurgence of Terrorism in Pakistan
According to the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies, Pakistan experienced a 50% increase in terrorist attacks during the first year of Taliban rule, primarily in the border regions bordering Afghanistan and Iran.
A report by the UN Security Council in May 2022 stated that the banned TTP benefited the most among all foreign extremist groups in Afghanistan as a result of the Taliban’s rule.
In the previous year, talks between Islamabad and the banned TTP were mediated by Kabul, but the ceasefire was unsteady and ultimately failed.
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