THERE has been no abatement in the spate of recent killings in Pakistan, either by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or other affiliates, operating from Afghanistan or from within the country. Simultaneously, Pakistan is also reeling under a nonstop trend of killing of homegrown terrorists who were notorious for their dread as well as for carrying out cross-border terrorism in India, particularly for their complicity in 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks or in Kashmir or other parts of India. Such slain terrorists mostly belonged to Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) or Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), both creations of the Pakistani security establishment.
Dwelling upon the slew of patterned terror-linked attacks in Pakistan, on November 26, two civilians lost their lives while 10, including three security forces personnel, were injured in a suicide assault in Bannu’s Bakka Khel area. The attack was the latest in a series of terrorist incidents in recent months. The suicide bomber was an Afghan national. The Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group took the responsibility for the attack. This was the 16th suicide attack carried out by the Afghan nationals, according to authorities.
Use of Afghan soil
Significantly, the number of attacks has only gone up since August 2021. Pakistan lodged a strong protest over the use of Afghan soil and also made a list of fresh demands which included full investigation into the Bannu attack and stern action against perpetrators and abettors; immediate ‘verifiable actions’ against all terrorist groups and their sanctuaries; arrest of Hafiz Gul Bahadur and his subsequent handover to Pakistan; and assurance on preventing the use of Afghan soil for terrorism against Pakistan.
The Afghan Taliban have so far refused to use force against the banned TTP. Yet, there is no indication Kabul would change its designs. Afghan Taliban have cited three main reasons for the lack of action against TTP. First, the TTP helped the Afghan Taliban fight the US-led NATO forces. Second, it is not the tradition of Afghans to act against their guests. Third, any action against the TTP may compel its members to join ISIS. Thus, the Afghan Taliban feel the best way forward is to hold talks with the TTP.
Pak refusal to talk
Pakistan, however, does not seem to relent. It is reluctant to talk to the terrorist outfit. It may be recalled that when Pakistan first entered into talks with the TTP after Afghan Taliban returned to power, there were some positive movements initially. The talks led to a ceasefire by the TTP.
In return for the truce, Pakistan freed certain TTP members. It also allowed return of hundreds of TTP militants as part of the confidence-building measures. The move, however, backfired. The returning terrorists soon began targeting security forces.
Government’s own figures suggest that there has been 60 per cent increase in terrorist attacks and 500 per cent rise in suicide attacks since the Taliban takeover in August 2021.
Meanwhile, the deportation of Afghans from Pakistan to Kabul has further widened the gulf between Afghanistan and Pakistan. It does not show any chances of improvement.
In the sphere of terror-related happenings, unidentified gunmen killed Maulana Raheem Ullah Tariq, a close aide of JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar, in Karachi. The Karachi police labeled it as a “targeted killing” and an “act of terrorism”. The incident marked the third high-profile killing of terrorists in November.
Earlier, Akram Ghazi, commander of LeT, was gunned down in Pakistan’s KP and Khwaja Shahid, one of the masterminds behind the 2018 Sunjuwan terror attack in J&K, was abducted and found beheaded near the LoC in PoK.
Significant individuals
The recent incidents have also targeted significant individuals. Akram Ghazi was a top recruiter for LeT between 2018 and 2020, responsible for radicalising numerous terrorist who infiltrated the Kashmir Valley over the past two years. Similarly, Tariq was known to be a close associate of Masood Azhar.
Ghazi was shot dead in Bajaur district. Earlier in September, LeT commander Riyaz Ahmed was killed outside AI Quddus Masjid in Rawalakot, PoK. Ahmed was in charge of Lashkar’s operations and recruitment in the region. Also, in May, Paramjit Singh Panjwar, a wanted terrorist and chief of Khalistan Commando Force, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen.
The other recent killings include Maulana Ziaur Rehman, a LeT operative who was shot dead in Karachi’s Gulistan-e-Jauhar, and Mufti Qaiser Farooq, who was killed at a seminary in Gulshan-i-Umar. JeM terrorist Shahid Latif, chief handler of the fidayeen squad that attacked Pathankot airbase in 2016, was gunned down in a mosque in Sialkot on October 10.
Pakistan finds it convenient to blame India and its external intelligence agency for these `mysterious’ killings little realising or feigning ignorance that such terrorists and the dreaded terror groups are its own creations who have now assumed monstrous proportions and are completely out of control of the its security agencies. Such nonstop killings have also shaken the confidence of the general populace of Pakistan who have started questioning the political wisdom and judgement of the political leadership, particularly when the elections are round the corner. The anxiety is bound to increase further in the days to come.
