TTP And ISKP: Unraveling The Complex Web Of Militancy In South Asia – OpEd

Since the Taliban take over, the Afghanistan land has become a most volatile as many terrorists group have regained their strength under the patronage of Taliban regime. United States withdrawal from Afghanistan certainly have severe repercussions for the region.

Since then, Afghanistan has faced a multifaceted security challenges and increased terrorist activities. The Taliban’s return to power has created a power vacuum, reshaping security dynamics and impacting terrorism concerns on both regional and global levels. A major concern is the presence and activities of groups like ISIS-K (Islamic State Khorasan Province), which has taken advantage of the instability to expand its influence. ISIS-K has carried out numerous attacks targeting civilians, the Taliban, and neighboring countries, aiming to undermine Taliban control and promote its extremist agenda. Al-Qaeda, though weakened, also remains active in Afghanistan but has maintained a relatively lower profile. Meanwhile, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has found safe haven in Afghanistan, operating freely from the region to challenge the authority of the Pakistani state.

The volatile security situation in Afghanistan affects neighboring countries like Pakistan, Iran, and the Central Asian states, heightening their concerns over potential cross-border terrorist threats. Additionally, the Taliban’s limited governance experience and scarce resources have raised doubts about their ability to effectively curb terrorist groups and maintain control over the country. Globally, there is also fear that Afghanistan could once again become a breeding ground for terrorist organizations with transnational agendas, posing risks beyond its borders.

Pakistan has repeatedly urged the Taliban government to take action against the TTP within Afghan territory, but significant cooperation has yet to materialize over the past three years. Pakistani authorities are deeply concerned about the TTP’s operations from Afghanistan, emphasizing the threat it poses to Pakistan’s national security. Most terrorist incidents in Pakistan are attributed to the TTP, which maintains sanctuaries within Afghanistan. Pakistan has repeatedly shared intelligence with the Afghan government, providing specific details on TTP members’ locations and activities in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, the TTP operates under the patronage of the Interim Afghan Government (IAG) due to its ideological and wartime linkages with the Tehrik-i-Taliban Afghanistan (TTA). Having supported the TTA during the war, the TTP now receives reciprocal support from the IAG.

However, it is time for the Taliban government to understand that the continued presence of the TTP in their territory could strain bilateral relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan. It is believed that the Afghan government is using the TTP as leverage against Pakistan. This approach allows the TTP to operate from within Afghan territory to exert pressure on Pakistan for political or strategic gains. The deaths of many TTP leaders and fighters in Afghanistan, along with their use of US weapons, confirm the TTP’s presence there. International intelligence reports also verify these deaths and the use of US weapons, refuting Kabul’s claims that the TTP is not operating from Afghan soil against Pakistan. The international community, including Chinese intelligence, acknowledges the presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan and their role in the Bisham attack on May 27, 2024. Despite the Supreme Afghan leader’s decree against jihad outside Afghanistan, the TTP’s non-compliance demonstrates their defiance of the Taliban government. The TTP has links with ISKP and other terrorist groups operating in Afghanistan.

Moreover, Pakistan has been facing and fighting ‘Khawariji terrorists’ for the past two decades. These terrorists, while claiming allegiance to different groups, are essentially the same due to their Khawariji ideology of killing and destruction, which religious scholars have declared un-Islamic and haram. Although Khawariji groups like the TTP and ISKP appear to be at odds with each other, they are fundamentally alike, as both share a Khawariji ideology rooted in un-Islamic, inhuman, immoral, and barbaric practices based on a misinterpretation of Islamic teachings. ISKP consists of former commanders and militants of the TTP (the first Ameer of ISKP, Hafiz Saeed, was a well-known TTP commander from the Orakzai agency). Therefore, in addition to their shared ideology, their human resources, terrorist tactics, and targets overlap, confirming that these banned outfits are covertly connected. ISKP has demonstrated the capability to conduct attacks both within and outside Afghanistan, highlighting a strong operational network and recruitment strategy. The Taliban’s insufficient counterterrorism efforts raise concerns about the potential for terrorist groups to plan and execute operations against U.S. interests and allies, suggesting that the threats emanating from Afghanistan have increased rather than diminished since the U.S. withdrawal.

Both groups are foreign proxies and puppets of Pakistan’s enemies, used against Pakistan to serve the interests of their foreign masters. ISKP abhors the Afghan Taliban, engaging in physical confrontations with them and condemning them in propaganda campaigns. Strangely, however, it takes a softer approach toward the TTP, reinforcing the perception that they are collaborating at some level. No clashes between the TTP and ISKP have ever occurred, and both enjoy safe havens in Afghanistan without conflict or friction, supporting the notion that the TTP is using ISKP for deception. The Khawariji TTP perpetrates heinous terrorist attacks on civilian targets through ISKP to manage public backlash. While ISKP launches suicide bombers against religious scholars, mosques, religious gatherings, and groups, the TTP only claims responsibility for attacks on security forces.

Both the Khawariji TTP and ISKP radicalize youth and coerce teenagers into committing “haram” acts like suicide attacks; meanwhile, not a single terrorist leader has shown the courage to blow himself up with a suicide vest. The presence of the Khawariji TTP and ISKP in Afghanistan is well-documented, substantiated by various reports from security organizations and media outlets, including UNSC reports, U.S. and Western think tanks, among others.

Pakistani religious scholars have unanimously declared these terrorist groups and their activities haram through the Paigham-e-Pakistan fatwa, categorizing armed struggle within Pakistan as un-Islamic. Rather than remaining in denial, the Taliban government must collaborate with neighboring states to jointly combat and weaken the presence of the TTP and similar groups in Afghanistan. The prosperity and security of both Pakistan and Afghanistan are mutually dependent; thus, an insecure Pakistan means an insecure Afghanistan.