As tensions between Pakistan and the leaders of the Taliban in Afghanistan rise, a spokesperson for the TTP has denied any involvement in the suicide bombing of a crowded mosque in Peshawar.
The Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, were immediately ruled out when a suicide bomber struck a mosque inside a police compound in the northwestern city of Peshawar.
Sarbakaf Mohmand, the group’s commander, claimed responsibility for the attack on Monday, which was one of the deadliest on security forces in recent months.
Mohammad Khurasani, a spokesperson for the TTP, distanced the organization from the bombing more than ten hours later, stating that it was not the group’s policy to target mosques or other religious sites and that those participating in such acts could face punitive action under the TTP’s policy. He did not explain why a TTP commander had claimed responsibility for the bombing in his statement.
After the Afghan Foreign Ministry said that attacks on worshippers were against Islam’s teachings, the TTP denied the allegations.
Pakistan and the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan’s neighbor, whom Islamabad accuses of sheltering TTP leadership and fighters who had fled Pakistani counterterrorism operations for nearly a decade, already have strained relations.
Take a look at Pakistan’s Tehreek-i-Taliban, an organization that has been fighting an insurgency for the past 15 years:
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Origins of TTP
The TTP was officially established by Pakistani militants in 2007 when various outlawed groups agreed to work together against Pakistan and support the Afghan Taliban, who were fighting US and NATO forces. These militants were enraged by Islamabad’s cooperation with Washington in the so-called global “war on terror.”
The TTP wants to see its own interpretation of Islamic law enforced more strictly, its members held by the government released, and the Pakistani military’s presence in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Afghanistan-border province it has long used as a base, reduced.
Since November of last year, when it unilaterally ended a ceasefire with the government following the failure of months-long talks hosted by Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers in Kabul, the TTP had increased its attacks on Pakistani soldiers and police.
In Peshawar, the capital of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the TTP has repeatedly urged the police not to participate in operations against its fighters.
Read: Timeline of Talks with Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan(TTP)
TTP-Afghan Taliban relations
Although distinct from the Afghan Taliban, the TTP is a close ally of theirs.
Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021 following the withdrawal of American troops, officials in Islamabad claim that TTP leaders and commanders have been operating with greater freedom.
The majority of TTP fighters lived a life of evasion and used to hide in Pakistan’s tribal northwest and Afghanistan.
According to reports, the Afghan Taliban released TTP leaders and fighters in Kabul who had been detained by previous administrations.
The Taliban have stated on multiple occasions that they will not permit the TTP or anyone else to use Afghan soil for attacks against Pakistan or any other nation. However, officials from Pakistan claim that the Afghan Taliban’s words and deeds diverge.
Abdullah Khan, a senior defense analyst and managing director of the Islamabad-based Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, stated that the Pakistani Taliban have pledged loyalty to the Afghan Taliban leader.
However, he went on to say that they have their own plan and strategy.
The Afghan Taliban’s goal has been to drive out foreign forces from Afghanistan, whereas Pakistani forces have been the primary focus of TTP operations.
Abdullah Khan is worried that militant violence will rise in Pakistan in the coming weeks and months.
At the beginning of this month, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, called for a cooperative relationship between Pakistan and the Taliban rulers in Afghanistan and warned that tensions could turn Pakistan’s counterterrorism efforts into a “disastrous forever war.”
Khan attributed the straining of bilateral ties to the government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, his successor, for issuing statements that were “dangerously irresponsible” against the authorities of the Afghan Taliban.
Read: Pakistan’s absolute red line is TTP
Growing violence
In the past two decades, Pakistan has experienced numerous militant attacks, but since November, there has been an increase.
In particular in the rugged and remote northwestern region of Pakistan, a former TTP stronghold, the Pakistani Taliban frequently carry out shootings or bombings.
Residents in the two districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the regions of North and South Waziristan, which are affected by the violence, are more concerned about the possibility of a military operation.
Hours after the bombing on Monday, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan told the independent Geo news channel that the Afghan Taliban rulers had promised the international community that they would not let anyone use their land for attacks against another country.
He stated, “They should keep their promises.”
Read: US offers help with TTP threat, India rivalry
Source: AP