The Hasht-e Subh Daily has obtained information indicating that the Taliban have evacuated Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) families and fighters from settlements that had been built for them in Ghazni province, following Pakistani airstrikes. The findings of this report show that some of these families have been relocated to rural areas, while others have been moved into residential neighborhoods within Ghazni city. Some residents of Ghazni city, expressing deep concern, say they live in constant fear of Pakistani bombardment and are calling on the Taliban to remove TTP families and suspicious individuals from the city to ensure the safety of the population.
Credible sources tell the Hasht-e Subh Daily that following the escalation of tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan, TTP settlements in Ghazni have been evacuated by the Taliban. According to these sources, TTP family members and fighters have been dispersed into residential neighborhoods and some rural areas, and the settlements that the Taliban had constructed for the TTP are now empty.
The sources add: “These settlement residents have been transferred to certain villages in the districts of Waghaz, Qarabagh, and Khwaja Umari, while others have been relocated to residential areas within Ghazni city.” According to the sources, these transfers took place after TTP settlements in the Kotel-e Rawza area and Waghaz district were targeted multiple times by Pakistani airstrikes two months ago, at the height of tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan.
Sources say that in the most recent incident, Pakistani fighter jets on Sunday of the current week targeted a commercial market in the Bazzazi area and a residential house in the Plan-e Sewom area, located within the Taliban’s Second Security District in Ghazni city, with drone strikes. According to the sources, several people were killed and wounded in these attacks, but the Taliban are not permitting photography or the release of casualty figures.
The sources emphasize: “On Wednesday at noon, three locations in the Nawabad area and two locations in the Qala-e Shahada area, within the Taliban’s Sixth Security District in Ghazni city, were also struck by drones.” According to the sources, the Taliban have placed these locations under heavy surveillance and have not allowed anyone to approach them.
Residents of Ghazni city also report that the buzzing of drones is heard periodically over the city and its surrounding districts, and that the Taliban are attempting to shoot them down with intermittent fire from the Ghazni citadel.
Last night, one resident of Ghazni city, expressing grave concern over the ongoing situation, said that drones had been patrolling over the Muhajirin settlement in central Ghazni from five in the afternoon until around ten at night. He said that when the drones descended closer to the ground, families, gripped by fear, poured out of their homes, staring up at the sky and deeply worried that a bombardment might follow.
Residents of Ghazni say they are deeply frightened by the patrols and bombings carried out by Pakistani aircraft and are worried about becoming targets of these strikes. They are calling on the Taliban to remove TTP fighters and their families from the city and to stop allowing armed fighters to reside in residential areas, so that civilians can be protected from Pakistani airstrikes.
This comes after the Hasht-e Subh Daily had previously reported that four settlements were built by the Taliban in Ghazni for members of TTP and al-Qaeda. The findings of that report indicated that these settlements were located in the Malik-ud-Din area of Nawa district for the al-Qaeda network, while three other settlements were built for TTP in the Dasht-e Bagh-e Attar area of Qarabagh district, Dasht-e Kabuli in Waghaz district, and Kotel-e Rawza on the outskirts of Ghazni city, all equipped with modern facilities and infrastructure. In addition to residential housing, these settlements also include large religious seminaries and well-equipped dormitories.
Previously, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Pakistan’s Defense Minister, claimed that the Taliban had requested 10 billion Pakistani rupees, approximately 36 million US dollars, to relocate TTP members away from the Durand Line near the border with Pakistan. Additionally, Rana Sanaullah, Pakistan’s former Interior Minister, had stated that the Taliban promised Pakistan they would move TTP away from border areas and relocate them to areas deeper inside Afghanistan.
Zabihullah Mujahid, Taliban spokesman, had said that a plan had been prepared to transfer and settle thousands of Waziristan refugees from along the Durand Line to central provinces inside Afghanistan.
In the most recent development, the office of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) stated in its quarterly report that following Pakistani strikes on Afghan soil, 372 civilians were killed and 397 others were wounded. According to the report, which covers the period from January 1 to March 31 of the current year, these casualties were recorded during clashes between Pakistan and the Taliban across various provinces of Afghanistan. The report states that Pakistani airstrikes on March 16 targeted the “Shafakhana-e Omid” addiction treatment center in Kabul, killing 269 people and wounding 122 others. According to UNAMA, all of those killed were male, and one woman was reported among the wounded.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
حملات نظامی پاکستان؛ طالبان شهرکهای تیتیپی در غزنی را تخلیه کردند
