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Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has in a fresh statement warned soldiers in the Pakistani security forces that if they did not quit their jobs they would have to face increasing attacks from the militant outfit in the days ahead.
“Our fight is only in Pakistan where we are at war with Pakistani security forces, we are hoping to take control of Pakistan’s border tribal region and make it independent,” the TTP said in a statement.
The statement says that the soldiers deployed in North Waziristan and other areas to fight against militant outfits have been suffering low morale and want to quit but are unable to do so due to harsh punishment.
In a major blow to Pakistani security forces, the TTP has also announced that a prominent jihadi group, led by Eid Marjan from North Waziristan, has pledged allegiance to TTP chief Noor Wali Mehsud and joined their ranks.
According to the TTP, all factions of militant groups have now united under the command of the TTP supremo Noor Wali Mehsud.
The TTP, an umbrella organization for several militant groups, has escalated attacks against Pakistani security forces in recent months, particularly in April.
In the first three months of this year, 97 soldiers and officers were killed in multiple attacks by the group. Interestingly, the various social media accounts of the TTP have been showcasing the names and faces of those getting killed.
The Baloch and ISIS-K groups have also upped the ante and are drawing moral support from the TTP, which is portraying “Afghans, Pashtuns and Balochs” as victims of the army’s brutality and calling for the liberation of the Af-Pak border region.
Pashtun anger at the forcible erection of a barrier along the Durand Line is leading to frequent skirmishes with Pakistan’s forces.
Tensions have also mounted between the Pakistani army and the Taliban regime in Kabul as the latter refused to reign in their ideological brother the TTP. Pakistan hoped that the insurgents turned rulers – who benefited from Pakistan’s support over the past 20 years of war – would rein in the violence by TTP militants but in recent months, attacks by the group in Pakistan have increased.
Since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, the TTP has carried out 82 attacks in Pakistan, more than double the number over the same period of the previous year, according to the Islamabad-based Pak Institute of Peace Studies. The attacks killed 133 people.
Pakistan’s frustrations further grew as the TTP launched “Al-Badr” offensive against the Pakistani army last week which is the most significant insurgent onslaught against Pakistan in recent years. In retaliation, Pakistan used fighter jets and drones to attack on the TTP hideouts inside Afghanistan making the Taliban rulers more furious.
Afghanistan defence minister Mullah Yaqoob has already issued a stiff warning to Pakistan to desist from any attacks inside Afghanistan or else be ready for retaliation.
What is extremely worrying for Pakistani forces is that ISIS-K and Baloch groups have also stepped up attacks in the country. The modern weapons and gadgets that are being used by these groups are acting as a force multiplier.
The TTP commanders have also sought more active support from the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan to set up an independent region in Pakistan.
