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Yesterday’s suicide bombing at a mosque in Peshawar is one of the deadliest attacks on Pakistani security forces in years. Many police officers are among the victims. The terrorist organization Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) is held responsible, but the organization itself denies any involvement.
Since the TTP ended a ceasefire with the Pakistani government at the end of last year, violence in the country has increased. What kind of organization is the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and why are they carrying out attacks on Pakistani territory? Five questions and answers about this organization.
How did the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan come into being and what is their goal?
The TTP is the largest and most violent militant organization in Pakistan, according to analysts. It is not an unequivocal group, but the organization consists of various local ‘fractions’ that are mainly active in western Pakistan.
The Pakistani Taliban was formed in 2001 at the time of the American invasion of Afghanistan. Dissatisfied with Pakistan’s support for the Americans, Pakistanis who had previously fought in Afghanistan began hosting Taliban and al Qaeda fighters in their own region. Under pressure from the US, the Pakistani government stepped up its fight against these groups. The band between the warriors among themselves that only made it tighter.
This eventually led to the official establishment of the TTP in 2007. What the jihadists had fought for in the early days in Afghanistan, they also wanted in Pakistan: their own strictly Islamic state.
Is there a link with the Afghan Taliban?
The TTP is not part of the Afghan Taliban. The Pakistani organization is less well organized and has certainly had a completely different goal in recent years. Because the groups were intertwined in the past, it is difficult to separate them completely.
Since the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan in 2021, the TTP has had a safe haven in the neighboring country. To the frustration of the Pakistani government, the TTP carries out attacks on Pakistani targets from Afghan territory. In response to this after the Pakistan Air Force in April last year attacked TTP targets in Afghanistan. This further strained relations between the two countries.
“We continue to talk to the Afghan authorities because their land is being used for cross-border terrorism”, Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khwaja Asif said after an attack in Islamabad in January.
Is the TTP also a threat internationally?
With attacks on American targets in Afghanistan, the TTP has shown that it is prepared to carry out attacks outside Pakistan as well. In a video message from 2010, the TTP stated that it also had targets in the US in mind. A month later, a Pakistani American was arrested in the US for a failed attack on Times Square in New York.
The US authorities have never said that the TTP was responsible for this. It is believed that the organization was involved in financing and organizing that attack.
Is it likely that the TTP is behind the attack in Peshawar?
The Tehreek-e-Taliban is undisputedly the dominant group in the region. About a week ago, news channel Al Jazeera reported that the TTP was preparing a wave of attacks in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The group wants to put pressure on the government in Islamabad to release imprisoned TTP members.
The attack in Peshawar was almost immediately claimed by a group that falls under the TTP. A few hours later, a spokesman for the TTP contradicted the earlier confession. According to spokesperson Khorasani, it is not in line with the policy of the TTP to attack mosques or other religious sites. Islamic terrorist organizations are often reluctant to take responsibility for attacks on believers.
What else can the Pakistani government do?
The fact that an attack could take place at this well-secured location is a major blow to the Pakistani government. The mosque in Peshawar is located in a shielded zone that also houses the Supreme Court, the regional police and an anti-terrorism unit, a few hundred meters apart.
In a tweet, Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif emphasizes that terrorism is the biggest challenge facing his country. It is certainly not the only problem Sharif has his hands full with. Pakistan is in a bad economic situation and the country is still struggling with the consequences of last year’s severe floods.
