March 5, 2023
3 mins read

Pakistan plans cross-border attack on TTP, risking border tensions

Pakistan is planning to attack TTP’s hideouts across the border that it hosted for two decades and facilitated their regaining of Kabul…reports Asian Lite News

Frustrated with non-cooperation from Afghanistan’s rulers in fighting the rampaging Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Pakistan plans to attack the latter’s hideouts across the border, however, the move spells serious border trouble and failure of its Afghanistan policy, reported The Pakistan Military Monitor (PMM).

Any confrontation on the Af-Pak border that has already witnessed skirmishes would surely mean bigger tensions and frequent closure of access to a landlocked Afghanistan. For Pakistan, it means more Afghan refugees, more displacement of its own people, and greater militancy and violence. And for the world, a renewed conflict zone, reported PMM.

Pakistan is planning to attack TTP’s hideouts across the border that it hosted for two decades and facilitated their regaining of Kabul.

However, the Taliban is unwilling to evict their ideological brothers and want to use them as leverage against Islamabad and use it as a bargain to end global isolation, reported PMM.

Islamabad could unleash “Plan B”, Kamran Yousaf, a senior foreign affairs correspondent at The Express Tribune reported.

As per him, Pakistan no longer wants to talk to the TTP terrorists, estimated at 8,000 to 12,000 – their families adding up to 30,000. They are operating from the borderland where Pashtuns live on both sides. Instead, it wants Kabul to evict them, to which the latter has refused.

A civil-military Pakistani delegation returned from Kabul last week with assurances and sets of proposals, but nothing concrete, reported PMM.

Kamran Yousaf wrote, “While there is a push to seek the resolution of the TTP issues through appropriate channels, Pakistan is also working on a contingency plan. The sense is that Pakistan is preparing for the worst. In case the Afghan Taliban fail to address our concerns, there is a possibility of cross-border strikes targeting the TTP sanctuaries. Pakistan did carry out such strikes once last April to put pressure on the Afghan Taliban, though it never publicly owned those raids. This may be the policy going forward — targeting the TTP hideouts across the border without publicly acknowledging it.”

Islamabad could use this option soon enough given the frequent violent attacks, not just across the border but also in the heartland. Besides border posts, the TTP fighters have daringly attacked police and even military establishments, reported PMM.

Nearly 400 men in uniform have died eliminating the attackers and regaining control. The TTP stepped up attacks since it unilaterally ended a ceasefire last November.

Recurring violence spells domestic trouble for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s fledgling coalition government. Militant bodies and Islamist parties agitate in tandem to protest the rising prices of essential commodities.

The government is already fighting a serious economic crisis of depleting foreign exchange reserves, down to USD two billion. Desperate efforts for an economic bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have partially spurred a 33 per cent inflation.

Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Imran Khan, demanding early elections, is also trying to cash in.

“Plan B” carries more than one international angle. Yousaf says Kabul agreed to ‘relocate’ the hideouts of not just the TTP terrorists, but also Uyghurs, the Chinese nationals from Xinjiang belonging to the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), estimated at 3,000, reported PMM.

However, Kabul would like Pakistan and China to bear the cost of moving the terrorists away from the respective borders. Both have so far rejected the idea and are trying to lean on the Afghan Taliban. (ANI)

ALSO READ: Abbott: China uses trade as a weapon

Previous Story

Breather for Pakistan as China approves $1.3b rollover

Next Story

Pro-Tibet rally in Taipei against Chinese oppression

Latest from -Top News

India-US Trade Deal Likely This Week

The interim trade deal would be an initial step towards a comprehensive bilateral free trade agreement between Indian and the US….reports Asian Lite News India is expected to finalise an interim trade

One Year Later, Hasina’s Son Raises Red Flag

Hasina’s abrupt exit last August after violent student protests was widely seen as a blow to democracy in the Muslim-majority nation of 170 million….reports Asian Lite News Sajeeb Wazed, son of former

Global South Finds Its Campus in India

The question is no longer if India can attract global talent, but whether it can build the conditions to do so at scale—with care and vision. Done right, India could emerge as

Jaishankar Gets Real on India-US Ties

The EAM underlined the structural drivers of the bilateral relationship, saying, “The trend line over the last 25 years has actually been very strong….reports Asian Lite News External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar

Polls Early Next Year, Yunus Tells US

The Chief Advisor invited Rubio to visit Bangladesh ahead of the general election to witness the country’s transition to democracy firsthand…reports Asian Lite News Bangladesh’s interim Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus has urged
Go toTop

Don't Miss

Ali Wazir: Latest victim of Pak’s Pashtun crackdown

While Wazir was recently granted bail in a case pertaining

Pak army chief, Chinese envoy discuss CPEC

The CPEC project has been in limbo since last year