A new United Nations Security Council report has highlighted the severe threat to Pakistan’s security from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), noting increased collaboration between the TTP and the Afghan Taliban in cross-border terrorist attacks, primarily targeting Pakistani military posts. The report from the Council’s Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team concerning ISIL (Da’ish), Al-Qaeda and associate groups noted that Pakistan suffered more than 800 attacks in the past several months.
The report corroborates what Pakistan has long been pointing out both to the Kabul authorities and the world community that it has become a victim to cross-border terrorism and that the Afghan soil is being used to carry out terrorist attacks inside Pakistan. The UN report confirms a nexus between Taliban, Al-Qaeda and the TTP noting that the TTP fighters between 6,000 and 6,500 continue to use NATO weapons obtained in Afghanistan and that Al-Qaeda is funding purchases of weapons and suicide vests for TTP. It cites several UN member states as saying that the Al-Qaeda figure Abu Ikhlas-al Masri is actively collaborating with Jamaat-ul-Ahrar in providing suicide bomber training to TTP in Kunar Province. There is increased support and collaboration between TTP and the Taliban, sharing manpower and training camps in Afghanistan and conducting more lethal attacks under the banner of Tehreek-e Jihad Pakistan (TJP). We hope that the contents of the report would serve as an eye-opener for those who oppose “Azm-e-Istehkam” and form the basis for international collaboration to counter the increasing security threat from Afghanistan not only for Pakistan but the entire region.
