970x125
Clashes erupted on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border overnight on Sunday, with both countries blaming the other for the flare-up.
970x125
Afghanistan’s Taliban government has claimed that its forces killed 58 Pakistani soldiers in the fresh clashes that came after Islamabad bombed “terrorist hideouts” outside of Kabul recently. Pakistan claimed that more than 200 Taliban soldiers have died in the clash while acknowledging 23 deaths on their side.
A Taliban spokesperson called Sunday’s clashes a retaliation for “repeated violations of Afghanistan’s territory and airspace”.
The central reason for the clashes between the Afghan and Pakistani forces along the Durand Line is the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan or TTP. Here is more about the organisation and what it wants to achieve in Pakistan.
Follow Pakistan-Afghanistan border clashes LIVE updates here.
What is Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan or TTP?
The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban, is a designated terrorist organisation and militant group that operates along the Afghan-Pakistani border. It is the outfit central to the current flare-up along the border that has resulted in significant loss of life on both sides.
Pakistan accuses the Afghan Taliban of harbouring TTP members who launch attacks on Pakistani soil. The Afghan foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, denied those accusations on Sunday, saying at a press conference during his visit to India that his country doesn’t have a single TTP member operating on its soil.
When and why was the TTP formed?
The TTP was formed back in 2007 under the leadership of Baitullah Mehsud as a loose alliance of various groups to combat the Pakistani military in the country’s tribal areas.
Mehsud has since died, and the organisation currently functions under Noor Wali Mehsud, the current Emir of the TTP. The different factions that make up the TTP operate with a certain degree of independence.
The alliance was formed in response to Pakistan’s military operations in its Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), which Islamabad said were against Al-Qaeda-linked militants.
According to various reports, the group has historically maintained close ties with senior Al-Qaeda leaders.
What does the TTP want?
According to the United Nations, the TTP’s primary objective is to overthrow the government of Pakistan and establish an Islamic emirate based on its rigid interpretation of Sharia law. While it has a similar ideology to the Afghan Taliban, the two are distinct organisations with separate command structures.
To achieve this, the group has carried out deadly attacks on Pakistan’s security forces, politicians, and civilians, destabilising large parts of the country’s northwest.
Pakistan has claimed that the TTP operates from Afghanistan, repeatedly attacking Islamabad’s forces in the provinces along the border.
While the TTP attacks have indeed increased since the Afghan Taliban took over Kabul in 2021, the Afghan government denies having any member of the organisation operating from its territory.
Leaders of TTP
Noor Wali Mehsud is the current Emir, or chief, of the TTP. He was born in South Waziristan and is a religious scholar and commander. Since taking over after Mullah Fazalullah’s death in 2018, he has worked to centralise the group’s command and refocus attacks primarily on Pakistani security forces.
Muzahim, alias Mufti Hazrat, is the deputy chief (Naib Emir), while Hafiz Gul Bahadur is the leader of a powerful TTP faction in North Waziristan. Muhammad Khurasani is the central spokesman for the TTP.
Does TTP control any territory?
TTP does not control any consolidated territory within Pakistan, though it has regained influence in specific regions of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The group operates more like a resilient insurgency than a governing body.
970x125
