PNN – The Pakistani Taliban is now the largest active terrorist network in Afghanistan, backed by al-Qaeda and even the Taliban government, a UN monitoring group on international terrorist organizations said.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, Pakistani media quoted the latest conclusion of the UN Assessment Group on ISIS and al-Qaeda as saying that the Pakistani Taliban terrorist group enjoys the support of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and al-Qaeda.
The report expressed concern over the growing threat of ISIS in Khorasan, saying elements of the Islamic State group are being strategically directed to Iran, Pakistan and Central Asian countries.
The latest conclusion of UN observers indicates their support for Pakistan’s positions, which claim that terrorists, including the Pakistani Taliban, are using Afghanistan’s territory freely and that these elements are using weapons left over from NATO and US forces.
Meanwhile, the Afghan government has denied its neighbor’s accusations and asked Islamabad to provide accurate documents and evidence on the presence of terrorist elements on Afghan soil, the report said.
However, the United Nations considers the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to be the largest terrorist group in Afghanistan, with operational and logistical support from both the Afghan Taliban and al-Qaeda factions.
The assessment group said in its 15th report that the strength of Pakistani Taliban fighters in Afghanistan is between 6,000 and 6,500. The group continues to operate at a significant level in Afghanistan, from where it continues to carry out terrorist operations inside Pakistan, often using Afghan nationals.
The report also questioned the Afghan Taliban’s willingness to reduce the threat of the Pakistani Taliban, given their historical ties, and Kabul’s temporary and tolerant support for Pakistani Taliban operations, including arming, training and supporting the subcontinental branch of al-Qaeda.
Al-Qaeda helps the Pakistani Taliban carry out terrorist attacks inside Pakistan, and another group, the Pakistan Jihad Tehreek-e-Taliban, also claims responsibility for those attacks to ease pressure on Afghan Taliban officials.
The UN report notes how ISIS Khorasan has limited its presence in Afghanistan and expanded its operations abroad by recruiting suicide bombers and encouraging them to travel to Europe, the Russian Federation and other neighboring countries.
The report, which describes the operation as “tactical rather than strategic,” notes that the Afghan Taliban’s capabilities to fight terrorism, especially the threat posed by ISIS in Khorasan, are inadequate.