Tag: Taliban

  • Bannu Aman jirga demands end to ‘Good Taliban’

    Bannu Aman jirga demands end to ‘Good Taliban’

    As the Bannu Aman (Peace) Jirga, a traditional assembly of elders, concluded their meeting at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister’s house, the issue of ‘good Taliban’ – the militants who have surrendered to the security forces – came to the forefront.

    One of the jirga’s key demands was the “elimination of both the good and bad Taliban and their centres.”

    The Jirga also sought to end the Good Taliban’s patrols and pickets in the area. Dawn News reported that the presence of these militants and the Jirga’s demand to end them will be challenging for both the provincial and federal governments.

    On Sunday, CM Gandapur issued a video message on social media stating that he had pointed out at the first meeting of the apex committee that “some armed men—posing as government officials or claiming to represent government agencies—were roaming the area and interfering in government affairs.”

    Gandapur said that he has ordered the police to arrest such individuals immediately.

  • TTP launches Azm-e-Shariat as retaliation to Pakistan’s Azm-e-Istehkam

    TTP launches Azm-e-Shariat as retaliation to Pakistan’s Azm-e-Istehkam

    Following the government’s announcement of launching the new security operation Azm-e-Istehkam, a counter-terrorism campaign against the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP), the terrorist organisation has also announced its own retaliatory operation Azm-e-Shariat, the Khorasan Diary reported.

    Earlier this week, journalist Iftikhar Firdous raised alarms over the “clarity of policy” that the TTP holds against a confused and ambiguous state policy while appearing in Geo News programme Jirga with Saleem Safi.

    “The war against the Taliban has transformed; it has become ideological. TTP has started talking to political parties as they are expanding their political legitimacy by making a political office in Pakistan. Sarbakaf Mohmand, an affiliate of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA), was appointed as the political commission head,” cautioned the journalist.

    The Current contacted Iftikhar, the founding editor of the digital news organisation Khorasan Diary, to ask about the consequences of TTP having a clear ideology and garnering legitimacy.

    “Legitimising them even as a stakeholder has ramifications for the state. What happened during the peace talks gave them a voice, and since then, they have expanded that voice to overlap with the political narratives of the country,” said Firdous.

    He pointed out that since their narrative post-2021 is primarily anti-military and blames political governments of corruption and elitism,
    “any voice that chimes the same cord is used by them to promote their narrative. Their propaganda has been directly relevant to the political situation of current Pakistan.”

    About Azm-e-Istehkam, he said, “It has been clarified now that Azm e Istihkam is not the name of kinetics but rather the real-time implementation of the 14 points of the revised national action plan.”

  • Unidentified militants attack girls’ school in KP’s Kurram district

    Unidentified militants attack girls’ school in KP’s Kurram district

    Unidentified militants blew up a girls’ school in the Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Express News reported on Saturday.

    The local authorities confirmed that militants used hand grenades to destroy the Aisha Siddiqa Girls’ School, located in Central Kurram district. The powerful explosion destroyed the school building.

    No causalities have been reported.

    Relevant authorities, including intelligence agencies and police officials, are investigating the incident to arrest the terrorists responsible for the attack.
    Multiple girls’ schools had been attacked in North Waziristan. One of the locals has revealed to news outlets that the Taliban are demanding a significant amount of money from the schools’ funds.

  • Kabul to cooperate with Pakistan in probing Bisham terror attack

    Kabul to cooperate with Pakistan in probing Bisham terror attack

    The Foreign Office of Pakistan on Friday stated that Taliban authorities in Afghanistan had assured Pakistan of their cooperation in the investigation into the Bisham suicide attack in which five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver were killed.

    “The Afghan side has agreed to examine the findings of the investigation and to work with Pakistan to take the investigation to its logical conclusion,” said the FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch in a press briefing.

    This development came after the visit of a high-level delegation led by Interior Secretary Khurram Agha to Kabul.

    China also welcomed the progress in the investigation and urged Pakistani authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice.

    In recent years, tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan have flared up as Pakistan blames Afghanistan for letting their territory be used by TTP against Pakistan.

  • Militants blow up first private school in North Waziristan

    Militants blow up first private school in North Waziristan

    A private girls’ school called Afia Islamic Girls Public School was blown up by unidentified militants in Tehsil Shewa of North Waziristan district on Wednesday night, reports Dawn.

    The police said the militants first assaulted the school watchman and later blew up two rooms of the school. There was, however, no loss of life in the explosion.

    Locals say that it was the only private girls’ school in the area and its administration had received multiple threat letters in the past.

    Journalist Iftikhar Firdous wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that he was contacted by the owner of the school and was told how the school was formed after going against the tide and now it is destroyed. Firdous wrote, “He was emotional so I asked him to share what he felt in his own words.”

    As government schools are “non-functional”, private schools are playing their part in promoting education. “In North Waziristan, the private sector plays an important role in promoting boys’ education, but there was no private girls’ school present in the area”.

    The owner deliberated with the elders of the region because he was determined to promote girls’ education. “For the construction of a private school for girls in Tehsil Shewa, we contacted different people, but no one was ready to build a school for girls because they said that the Taliban would destroy it since they are against female education, and we are not ready to invest in girls’ education in our area.”

    The owner convinced his friend, working as a laborer in the UAE, to invest Rs 10 lacs into the construction of a girls’ school in Tehsil Shewa, North Waziristan, as it would help promote girls’ education in the area. “He readily agreed with our advice and was ready to invest money in the girls’ school.” The owner related that the funds were not enough and so it took three years for completion. It was inaugurated on May 19, 2023. “In less than one year, 100 girls got admission to Afia School, and with every passing day, the strength of the school increased,” he told Firdous in an emotional tone.

    On May 9, 2024, at midnight 1 PM, unknown persons destroyed the school with a bomb, while also breaking chairs and whiteboards.

    Firdous shared how he ended the note determined to promote the cause he believes in.“In this way, they stopped our girls from education, but we will continue our struggle for the promotion of girls’ education until death”.

  • Several dead in protests in eastern Afghanistan

    Several dead in protests in eastern Afghanistan

    Several people were killed when a demonstration broke out in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday after Taliban authorities ordered houses cleared to make way for a building construction, a provincial official said.

    The Taliban authorities had ordered residents to vacate the land on the road between provincial capital Jalalabad and the border with Pakistan to make way for a new customs building, said Arafat Mohajer, the head of the information and culture department for the Torkham border point.

    “The residents of the area created chaos in response,” said Mohajer, and in clashes one Taliban official was killed as well as “a number of people who were occupying the land (illegally)”.

    The demonstration and clashes had blocked the key road from Jalalabad to Torkham, Mohajer added.

  • ‘Taliban has taken over most of KP areas’ claims Mohsin Dawar

    ‘Taliban has taken over most of KP areas’ claims Mohsin Dawar

    Mohsin Dawar, former MNA and political rights activist, recently claimed that “Taliban have taken over most of the areas in KP.”

    Dawar appeared on journalist Azaz Syed’s YouTube channel and remarked, “North Waziristan, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Dera Ismail Khan, Tank and South Waziristan are almost completely taken over by them [Taliban].”

    Dawar also said that even big cities like Peshawar are not safe anymore.

    When Azaz Syed asked if he was talking about Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) specifically, Mohsin Dawar replied, “There are many groups involved but the majority is TTP that has occupied these areas.”

    When the journalist dug further into the former minister’s big claim, Dawar stated “This is not a claim but a reality. You yourself reported on the issue of abduction of session judge from DI Khan by TTP.”

    Dawar was referring to the Sessions Judge Shakirullah Marwat, who was abducted by TTP members on Dera Ismail Khan’s Tank Road and later released. KP government allegedly paid Rs 5 crore to TTP for his release.

  • ‘Members of TTP are in contact with me’, Barrister Saif wants dialogue with banned group

    ‘Members of TTP are in contact with me’, Barrister Saif wants dialogue with banned group

    Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, Advisor to the Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Information, has once again reiterated the need to start a dialogue with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as the country reels from a surge in terror attacks.

    Saif stated that the recent significant loss of lives on “both sides” should prompt Pakistan to opt for a peaceful way to get out of this mess.

    “We must consider the possibility of dialogue if terrorists are willing to renounce terrorism. The situation must be approached realistically. Lives are being lost on both sides, and the only way to halt this is to pursue peaceful means. This does not imply any form of surrender to the terrorists.”

    The statement comes a few days after CM KP Ali Amin Gandapur also said that the country needs to open a dialogue with terrorists because “Whatever we have done has gained us nothing.”

    The Advisor also revealed that the terrorists are in contact with him, “Members of the TTP have been in contact with me, discussing their issues. At times, when the TTP has issues with the Pakistan army, they communicate it through me.”

    Social media reactions were mostly critical of Barrister Saif.

  • US tells Taliban to stop terrorists from using Afghan soil

    US tells Taliban to stop terrorists from using Afghan soil

    The US State Department has supported Pakistan’s initiatives against terrorism and called on Taliban leaders to stop terrorists from using Afghanistan’s land.

    In a conversation with Geo News, a State Department spokesperson said, “We support Pakistan’s efforts to combat terrorism and ensure the safety and security of its citizens in a manner that promotes the rule of law and protection of human rights.”

    The spokesperson said that Pakistan suffers a lot due to terrorism, adding that no country should suffer this much due to terrorism.

    “We urge the Taliban to ensure that Afghan soil is not used to support terrorist groups, movement of terrorists, or acts of terrorism.

    “We have been very clear that we will judge the Taliban by what they do, not what they say. The Taliban wantsl international legitimacy. This requires the Taliban to meet their commitments to the international community,” the official said.

    The US state spokesperson also said that the only concern of the US was to make sure that Afghanistan is not a secure and comfortable place for terrorists who want to harm the US, its partners, and allies. 

    The official added, “We are in regular communication with Pakistani leaders as a part of our partnership on counterterrorism issues. We continue to discuss Afghanistan in detail, including through our annual counterterrorism dialogue and other bilateral consultations.”

  • Serious lapses in security protocol of slain Chinese nationals

    Serious lapses in security protocol of slain Chinese nationals

    Since a tragic terror attack in Shangla claimed six lives including five Chinese citizens, a decision to constitute an investigative committee was taken by the government.

    The attack exposed serious lapses in the security detail of the Chinese engineers and a disregard for standard operating procedures (SOPs).

    The committee was shocked to find out that the bus carrying the Chinese officials was not bulletproof, let alone bombproof, which is the requirement under the security SOPs.

    It pointed out multiple significant flaws in the security detail due to which the incident took place.

    They further said the company “that was required to provide bullet- and bombproof vehicles to transport Chinese workers, and duly paid for, failed to meet its contractual obligations.”

    Moreover, according to the SOPs, the District Police Officer in Upper Kohistan was supposed to be informed about the movements of the foreign nationals in advance which did not happen.