Daily Times

A recent presser of IG KP Police amply disclosed that the heinous terrorist attack at Peshawar Police Lines mosque was orchestrated by Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JUA) in January 2023.

The attack which took 101 innocent lives and left 223 persons injured was facilitated by a police constable namely Wali Muhammad. Rogue police employee confessed his facilitative role in numerous terrorist attacks and targeted killings at the behest of JUA. Intelligence agencies and police deserve appreciation for unearthing the nexus between banned JUA, TTP, rogue elements of the Interim Afghan Government(IAG) and local facilitators like Constable Wali. While analyzing the issue of cross-border terrorism, the focus mostly remains locked on banned TTP.

Undoubtedly, banned TTP is posing a serious security challenge to Pakistan with its longer outreach and boosted terror potential. However, the birth of numerous splinter groups (like JUA) from the womb of banned TTP on Afghan soil is a permanent irritant in fragile bilateral ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Unresolved cross-border terrorism-specific bilateral tension is becoming more complicated with the active presence of global terrorist organizations like Al-Qaida (AQ) and Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) in Afghanistan.

Poorly governed areas of Afghanistan serve as the breeding grounds for terrorist organizations having regional and global outreach. Both Daesh (ISIS) and AQ are operating on a larger canvas with off-shoots in various countries. ISKP is also a regional franchise of ISIS. A report published by CSIS titled “The Islamic State of Khorasan Province: Exploiting A Counterterrorism Gap”

in April this year pointed out that terrorist attacks by ISIS, since its emergence in 2015, had mostly hurt Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, ISKP is not restricted to the Af-Pak region only as evidenced by the strong involvement of the banned group in heinous terrorist attacks inside Iran and Russia. Strong evidences reflect the involvement of ISKP in terrorist attacks against Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. In the past, ISKP footprints were also traced in Kerala as well which sufficiently endorsed the organization’s larger transnational terror designs.

Though IAG dramatically took over Kabul’s throne after a surprisingly quick meltdown of the Afghan army, the likelihood of resistance from rivals has always been a potent threat.

Operations at such a larger scale are not possible without compatible financing, recruitment and terrorist training. No rocket science is needed to comprehend the obvious linkage of ISKP with its mother organization ISIS which continues to pursue global terrorist plots in the Middle East, Europe and Asia. The presence of terrorist groups of various brands having regional and global goals is neither good for Afghanistan nor for the entire region. The equation between the various terrorist groups inside Afghanistan is very intricate. The interim Afghan government (IAG) seems comfortable with the banned TTP amid ideological and sectarian alignment. Banned TTP is comfortable co-existing on Afghan soil due to natural like-mindedness with IAG.

The nature of relations between ISKP and IAG is more intriguing and troublesome. Unlike the natural bonding with banned TTP, the presence of ISKP has kept the IAG in a state of annoyance. IAG ranks and files consider ISKP as a potent threat to their reign over Afghanistan.

Though IAG dramatically took over Kabul’s throne after a surprisingly quick meltdown of the Afghan army, the likelihood of resistance from rivals has always been a potent threat to the Taliban regime. The defection of local warlords and foot soldiers is another worrisome nightmare for the Afghan Taliban. Defectors of the Taliban regime may collaborate either with northern resistance groups or join hands with ISKP.

Incorporation of banned TTP in any anti-IAG alliance may trigger an unimaginable rebellion movement against the Taliban’s unelected regime. IAG’s extraordinary soft corner for banned TTP is meaningfully influenced by the idea of keeping the fugitive Pakistani-origin foot soldiers of the terrorist group on the side of the Afghan Taliban. Unfortunately, this flawed approach of IAG is not working well.

Afghanistan continues to radiate as a breeding ground of terrorism posing security threats to all neighbors. Discomfort of Pakistan on the cross-border attacks is too serious to ignore but IAG’s response on this sensitive issue always remains below the expectations. International observers including the UN are repeatedly raising concerns about the troublesome linkage between IAG, AQ and TTP including splinter groups like Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JUA).

A recent report by the UN pointed out banned TTP as the biggest terrorist group operating from Afghanistan. Ironically, IAG continues to deny the active presence of terror groups on their soil. This blatant denial proves Kabul’s close linkage with terror groups of all brands in a very provocative manner. The involvement of ISKP in terror attacks on Chinese citizens inside Pakistan needs to be viewed in the context of many interconnected disturbing developments. Unrest in bordering areas of erstwhile FATA in KP province is unfolding as a joint venture of ethnic and misled jihadist groups.

The nexus between the hardcore banned terrorist groups (ISKP-TTP-JUA) and ethnically motivated anarchist pressure groups is aimed at denting the writ of the state. Besides terrorist attacks, these groups are trying to gain ingress in LEAs especially the Police to disrupt the system from within. Recent disclosures about insider support in the Peshawar Police Lines mosque attack are eye-opening proofs of terrorist groups’ penetration in LEAs. Undeniably, terrorist groups stationed in Afghanistan are posing a deeper threat to regional peace and stability with the obvious support of IAG.

The writer is a student.