In recent days, Pakistan’s security situation has deteriorated again with an uptick in terrorist attacks. The most serious incident occurred last week in Pakistan’s Balochistan Province, where nine Pakistani soldiers were killed in the Zhob region – the highest military casualty count in years. Overall, Pakistan’s security landscape has shifted since August 15, 2021, largely due to political and security developments in Afghanistan. The collapse of Afghanistan’s republican government and the Taliban’s return to power after 20 years of militancy have enabled the country to once again become a safe haven for regional and global extremist groups. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) closely collaborated with the Afghan Taliban over the past decade, providing sanctuary to the Afghan Taliban during that time. However, with the Taliban now in power, the dynamic has reversed – the Taliban are hosts while the TTP are guests.
The TTP has emerged stronger than before, now possessing safe havens in Afghanistan’s southern and eastern provinces, more advanced capabilities, and American weapons seized from Afghan forces. This has led to a spike in casualties among Pakistani security personnel beyond previous levels. Pakistani strategists anticipated improved security following the Taliban takeover. However, Pakistan’s security predicament has only deepened and grown more complex with time. Last week, a Dawn Newspaper editorial stated Pakistani “patience was running out,” referring to the deteriorating security situation, primarily stemming from across the Durand Line. Pakistan’s military and strategists believe the Afghan Taliban is harboring and enabling TTP’s active presence in Afghanistan. When violence surged in Pakistan last week, Pakistan accused the Taliban of sheltering the TTP. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid rebutted that the TTP does not exist in Afghanistan, challenging Pakistan to provide evidence. In the latest verbal tensions, Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif acknowledged contentment at the Taliban takeover but admitted ignorance that they would harbor Pakistan’s enemies.
In this article, we take a brief look at the presence of TTP and international terrorists in Afghanistan after the Taliban regained power.
1- Ayman al-Zawahiri
On July 31, 2022, Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of al-Qaeda since 2011 following the death of Osama bin Laden, the group’s founder, was killed in Kabul. Al-Zawahiri had been in hiding in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border regions since 2011 until being killed by a U.S. drone strike the morning of July 31, 2022 in Kabul’s Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood. The killing of al-Zawahiri demonstrates the Taliban has not severed ties with Al-Qaeda and the strategic alliance between the two extremist groups persists.
2- Mufti Khalid Balti known as Muhammad Khurasani
Khalid Balti, originally from Pakistan’s Baltistan district in Gilgit, had served as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan’s spokesperson since 2014, replacing Shahidullah Shahid. He was killed by unidentified armed men on January 11, 2022 in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province. According to the TTP’s statement, Mufti Khalid no longer held an official position in the group when he was killed.
3- Aftabollah known as Yasir
Aftabullah is a senior commander of the TTP who has been spotted in Afghanistan multiple times since the government’s fall. Photos published online show him traveling to Kabul on a Kam Air flight and meeting with the Taliban’s Acting Interior Minister during Eid. Originally from Pakistan’s North Waziristan, he belongs to the TTP’s Sadiq Noor subgroup. Pakistani media hold him responsible for attacks and operations in North Waziristan.
4- Abdul Rasheed known as Uqabi Bajauri
Abdul Rasheed (alias Uqabi Bajauri) was the intelligence chief of TTP, who was killed on August 8, 2022, in Kunar province of Afghanistan. According to information, the car carrying him hit a roadside bomb.
5- Omar Khalid Khorasani
Omar Khalid Khorasani was a prominent leader in the TTP who was killed in Afghanistan. He is regarded as one of the group’s founders. Khorasani led Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, which claimed responsibility for the attack on the Peshawar police line. He established Jamaat-ul-Ahrar in 2013 after breaking away from the TTP, before re-pledging allegiance to the TTP in 2018 when Noor Wali Mehsud became its leader. On August 8, 2022, while traveling to Paktika province’s Barmal district with Mufti Hassan Swati and Hafiz Dawlat Khan Orakzai, their vehicle hit a roadside bomb, killing them. Khorasani was an opponent of potential peace talks between the Pakistani government and TTP.
6- Akhtar Khalil
Akhtar Khalil was one of the senior commanders of TTP, who was killed in September 2022 in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan. He was originally from the Janikhel Bannu district. Before joining TTP, he had his own group and in recent years he joined TTP.
7- Mawlawi Sibghatullah Takal
Mawlawi Sibghatullah Takal was killed by Pakistani border guards in Paktika Province in June 2023 when he was trying to cross the Durand Line with 15 fighters of TTP.
8- Sarbakaf Mohmand
Sarbakaf Mohmand was a senior commander of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and the TTP who died on June 26, 2023 in Afghanistan’s Kunar Province. The Express Tribune reported he was likely poisoned. Analysts also believe his death was suspicious given no known serious illness. Recent clashes and tensions within the TTP may have played a role in Mohmand’s demise.
9- Tariq Swati
Tariq Swati was one of the senior commanders of TTP and the mastermind of the attack on the Chinese bus in Dasu Dam of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, who was killed in Afghanistan in July 2023.
10- Safdar
Safdar, one of the senior commanders of TTP, was attacked on July 19 of this year in the Ghanikhel area of Nangarhar and was seriously injured. According to reports, he was transferred to Ariana Hospital in Jalalabad city after the attack.
11- Hojatullah Raihan
Hojatullah Raihan was one of the suicide attackers who targeted a Pakistani army headquarters in Balochistan’s Zhob district. He was killed in the attack, and posthumous photos emerged showing he originally hailed from Afghanistan’s Maidan Wardak Province. A memorial ceremony was also held for him in Maidan Wardak.
12- Attack on Noor Wali Mehsud
On July 16 this year, reports indicate the convoy transporting Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan leader Noor Wali Mehsud was attacked in Afghanistan’s Jalalabad. Per reports, his vehicles were struck after departing a meeting with Jamaat-ul-Ahrar. Sources say two of Mehsud’s guards were injured in the incident.
These few examples spotlight the broad presence of international terrorists in Afghanistan, with a focus on the Pakistani Taliban. They illustrate several key points. First, the Taliban maintains close ties to the TTP and provides safe haven for the group in Afghanistan. Reports indicate the Pakistani Taliban operates training camps along the Durand Line. Second, tensions have risen within the TTP, as evidenced by the killings of senior TTP commanders. Finally, despite the Taliban’s disavowals about extremist groups in Afghanistan, evidence demonstrates such organizations maintain an extensive, active presence there under Taliban protection.