Terrorism

Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan bankrolls TTP's bloody terror campaign

By Omar

A burned-out vehicle is seen at the site of a suicide attack targeting a police truck in Quetta on November 30, 2022. The attack, carried out by the Tareek-e-Taliban Pakistan, killed three people and injured 23. [Banaras Khan/AFP]

A burned-out vehicle is seen at the site of a suicide attack targeting a police truck in Quetta on November 30, 2022. The attack, carried out by the Tareek-e-Taliban Pakistan, killed three people and injured 23. [Banaras Khan/AFP]

KABUL -- Al-Qaeda's continued support of terrorist groups in Afghanistan, particularly the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), poses an increasing risk to regional and global security, analysts warn.

Al-Qaeda has continued to expand its presence in Afghanistan, with training camps and sanctuaries now operating in 12 of the country's 34 provinces, according to a United Nations (UN) sanctions monitoring team.

In July, the UN warned that al-Qaeda's financial and military backing could elevate TTP -- which maintains 6,000 to 6,500 fighters in Afghanistan -- into a "trans-regional threat."

Al-Qaeda's resurgence in Afghanistan has cemented its partnership with TTP, which has emerged as one of the country's leading terrorist organizations, security analysts said.

Pakistani security officials and family members attend the funeral of a police officer killed in a Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan attack in Chaman, Pakistan, January 28, 2022. [Abdul Basit/AFP]

Pakistani security officials and family members attend the funeral of a police officer killed in a Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan attack in Chaman, Pakistan, January 28, 2022. [Abdul Basit/AFP]

They point to the proliferation of secure hideouts for both groups as evidence that Afghanistan risks becoming a terrorist sanctuary.

And they note that al-Qaeda's financial and military support has fueled TTP's expansion within Afghanistan and intensified violence across Pakistan.

"With Taliban acquiescence, and at times support, TTP has intensified attacks inside Pakistan," the July sanctions monitoring team report to the UN Security Council said.

The group carried out more than 800 attacks during the first six months of 2024 alone, the report said, primarily targeting military installations.

Two children were among seven killed in a July 16 assault on a rural health facility in Pakistan's Dera Ismail Khan district that has been linked to TTP.

The TTP also claimed an October 25 attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a province bordering Afghanistan, that killed at least 14 Pakistani military personnel.

Deadly partnership

"Al-Qaeda's support extends beyond TTP," warned Kabul-based military analyst Abdul Wahid Karimi. "The network is expanding its influence by backing other terrorist groups, significantly increasing Afghanistan's potential for terrorism."

"Due to the lack of antiterrorism forces, terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda, are freely expanding their operations, posing a serious threat to global security," he told Salaam Times.

Al-Qaeda is "an umbrella of terrorism that turned Afghanistan into a sanctuary for various terrorist groups," said Afghan civil society activist Sayed Ashraf Sadaat, who is now based in Sweden.

"Almost all of them, including TTP, operate under its influence," he told Salaam Times. "In attacks by groups like the TTP, innocent civilians bear the brunt of the violence."

"From an Islamic perspective, terrorism is unequivocally condemned," he said. "Yet al-Qaeda continues to support the TTP to further its own strategic goals, showing complete disregard for these sacred principles."

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The killing of civilians, whether they are Muslim, Christian, or Jewish, is an evil act, and we condemn it. However, when it comes to the Pakistani military, this malicious institution is directly involved in the destruction of Afghanistan. If Pakistani soldiers are killed in this war, there are two things to consider. One is that many scholars believe the Pakistani military and intelligence agencies have numerous proxy armed groups that they deploy in various areas to make those regions insecure. They receive money from the international community, especially from the United States, and then conduct operations against armed groups, which not only kill militants but also kill local civilians. This is often done in Pashtun and Baloch areas because the military power is largely in the hands of the Punjabis. A political analyst stated that in the decision-making committee of the Pakistani military, which has 12 senior members, all of them are Punjabis. This means that the military is controlled by Punjab and Punjabis, who have historically waged hostility against the Pashtuns and Baloch. The Pakistani military and intelligence agencies supported armed groups against Afghanistan's 20-year democratic system. It was this very Pakistani establishment (military and intelligence agencies) that provided shelter to the Taliban leaders on its own soil. The same Pakistani establishment received weapons and money from China and Russia, particularly from China, and then supplied these arms a

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They trained the fighters and then sent them to Afghanistan to kill Afghan forces, civilians and the international coalition soldiers? Wasn’t this same establishment that on one hand supported the international coalition and on the other hand, gave Taliban leaders passports and ID cards, facilitated their trade and treated their wounded in its [Pakistani] hospitals? After the collapse of the pro-Soviet regime in Afghanistan in the 1990s, the Afghan army, police, intelligence… everything were destroyed. And all of this were destroyed because of the interference of Pakistan, Iran and Russia and the civil wars of their proxy groups. Even after the Taliban took over power in 1996, no one established these organs because they too were working on the orders of Pakistani intelligence agency. With the arrival of the international coalition in 2001, the international community, especially the United States and its European partners, made an army for Afghanistan, they made the police force, and spent thousands of millions of dollars building the infrastructure of Afghanistan. The Pakistani establishment killed Afghan security forces and their international trainers through its proxy groups and bombed everything including schools, universities, banks, bridges, and mosques. Again, we are saddened by the deaths of civilians, but should we also be saddened by the deaths of the Pakistani army when they have proven to be traitors and hypocrites and have played a direct role in the destruction

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After reading your report, I would like to share my opinion as follows; one, killing civilians anywhere in the world is unacceptable. In other words, killing civilians, whether they are Muslims or Hindus or this and that, is a condemnable act. The other issue is the army and the institutions and individuals associated with the army. If Pakistan says that its soldiers have been killed in this war, then there are two things; one is that many experts believe that the Pakistani army and intelligence agencies have many armed groups that they place in an area and they they make that area insecure. They receive money from the international community, especially from the United States, and then carry out operations against the armed groups, and they kill both the militants and local people. They do this mostly in the Pashtun populated and Baloch populated areas because most of the power in the army is in the hands of Punjabis. A political analyst said that the decision-making committee of the Pakistani army, which has 12 senior members, is all Punjabis. That is, the army belongs to Punjab and Punjabis have a historical enmity with the Pashtuns and Balochs. Another point is that, if we assume that these armed groups are really against the Pakistani government and want to overthrow the Pakistani government, this is a medical example of an antibody that turns into an antigen and damages the body. I will explain a little more; wasn’t it the same Pakistani army and intelligence agency that

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