By Franz J. Marty
KABUL — Reports most Afghan Taliban prophylactic havens on Pakistani seat down are abundant too such refuges are seen every bit crucial for the militants’ mightiness to sustain their insurgency within Afghanistan. What is oft overlooked is that some extremist groups, similar the Tehrik-e-Taliban Islamic Republic of Pakistan (TTP), produce the same, but inwards opposite – seeking shelter on the Afghan side of the border (which Kabul does non officially recognize) to launch assaults on the Pakistani side. While Pakistani officials receive got been making such accusations for years, they – dissimilar the allegations from Afghan too U.S. officials regarding Afghan insurgents hiding out on Pakistani seat down – never actually gained much traction or attention. That these Pakistani assertions are non smoke too mirrors was of late confirmed though. On March seven a U.S. drone struck a TTP army camp inwards the eastern Afghan province of Kunar, unopen to the Pakistani border. The onset killed at to the lowest degree xx TTP fighters, amidst them Abdullah, the boy of the movement’s leader, Mullah Fazlullah, every bit a TTP statement sent to Pakistani media acknowledged.
Prior to that, an Afghan militant, who cooperates amongst TTP elements too goes past times the nom de guerre of Qari Saifullah, stated inwards an exclusive interview that the after targeted TTP grouping consisting of Pakistani (many from the Swat valley) too Afghan fighters was residing inwards the remote Chawgam expanse inwards Kunar’s Shigal Wa Sheltan district. He also confirmed that the drone strike took house inwards the said expanse too had caused considerable casualties. The grouping is led past times Ustod Fateh, and, earlier the drone strike, had staged cross-border incursions at to the lowest degree every calendar month or so, inwards particular into the Pakistani tribal means of Bajaur, Saifullah added. While such incidents are non ever picked upward past times media, i onset on a Pakistani Army outpost inwards Bajaur, that was, according to Saifullah, conducted past times this group, was reported past times Reuters inwards mid-November 2017.
The presence of a TTP grouping led past times Fateh inwards Kunar was also separately confirmed past times 2 other sources. One – a local, who until of late served inwards the Afghan Border Police inwards Kunar – indicated at that spot are most 200 to 300 TTP fighters inwards Chawgam. In the whole province of Kunar, at that spot are most 2,000 TTP militants, he alleged. Given that locals oft inflate numbers, though, these figures should hold out taken amongst a tabular array salt of grain.
The instant rattling knowledgeable source, who requested anonymity because of the delicacy of the matter, identified Fateh (which is an alias) every bit Umer Rehman, the TTP’s military machine commander for the Malakand Division (a now-abolished administrative partition of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, including Swat district) – the exact same seat that Saifullah attributed to Fateh, who hails from Swat. The source also confirmed Fateh’s whereabouts inwards Kunar. The fact that Fateh is a rather obscure mid-level commander lends all the to a greater extent than weight to the detailed identifications too localizations of Fateh past times 2 kind out sources.
The same source also provided data that linked Fateh to a suicide bomber, who on Feb three blewhimself upward inwards the Swat valley, claiming the lives of at to the lowest degree xi Pakistani Army soldiers.
View downwardly the Shigal valley toward Pakistan, which lies behind the snowfall capped mount arrive at on the horizon; Chawgam, where on March 7, 2018 a U.S. drone struck a TTP camp, also lies inwards the immediate vicinity of this mount arrive at (March 2017). Image past times Franz J. Marty.
Whether the March seven U.S. drone strike has crippled or eliminated the said TTP group’s presence inwards Chawgam could non hold out determined. But fifty-fifty if that would hold out the case, this would non hold out the destination of the group’s presence inwards Kunar. Some fourth dimension earlier the strike, considerable numbers of the grouping inwards question, amidst them patently also Ustod Fateh, relocated to some other hideout inwards the mountains of the neighboring Ghaziabad district, further away from the border. This was confirmed past times a source, who inwards Feb visited a militant gathering there.
This said, Pakistani allegations that the Research & Analysis Wing (RAW), the Indian intelligence service, nurtures the mentioned TTP grouping every bit good every bit others via the Afghan intelligence service, the National Directorate of Security (NDS), could non hold out confirmed. Saifullah outright denied whatever Indian interest too insisted that the Afghan authorities likewise does non furnish whatever back upward to Fateh’s TTP group. However, some local Afghan authorities officials plough a blind midpoint to the militants, Saifullah alleged, by, for example, non hindering their crossing into Pakistan. At to the lowest degree i other source all the same claimed that local Afghan officials produce to a greater extent than too back upward such TTP groups amongst coin too weapons. None of the inwards a higher house could hold out verified. In general, allegations of interest of intelligence services should hold out treated amongst suspicion, specially inwards this role of the footing which is rife amongst conspiracy theories.
In whatever event, the presence of TTP fighters similar Fateh’s men is patently the argue for the sporadic shelling of Afghan seat down past times the Pakistani Army. Afghan officials denounce such shelling every bit blatant violations of their country’s sovereignty too insist that thousands of Pakistani “rockets” (probably also referring to mortar shells) are beingness fired indiscriminately, hitting civilian houses. Islamic Republic of Pakistan on the other manus seemingly sees this every bit a necessary retaliation, but the authorities hardly, if at all, publicly addresses such shelling. Although details of the shelling could non hold out independently corroborated, the fact that Afghan officials – despite asserting barrages of 1000 of rockets during the past times vi months – exclusively bespeak a mere handful of Afghan casualties raises doubts most the Afghan trouble organisation human relationship of the extent of the shelling.
Be that every bit it may, the inwards a higher house clearly shows that cross-border tearing extremism non exclusively threatens Afghanistan, but also Pakistan. However, reciprocal accusations that the other province does non human activity decisively plenty against insurgents on its seat down that threaten the other side of the border — every bit good every bit the to a greater extent than oft than non tense Afghan-Pakistani human relationship — too hence far has prevented the effective cooperation that would hold out necessary to counter such cross-border menaces.
In fairness, i could good fence though that neither Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan nor Pakistan, amongst or without cooperation from the other, would hold out capable of rooting out every terrorist hide-out inwards the region. The 2,670 km long Afghan-Pakistani border is non exclusively extensive, but covers extremely remote areas, which are prone to insurgency too receive got never been effectively governed.
Franz J. Marty is a freelance journalist based inwards Afghanistan. He writes on a wide arrive at of topics, but focuses on safety too military machine issues. Follow him on Twitter: @franzjmarty
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