At least five soldiers were killed and 34 injured in a car bomb attack at a security checkpost in North Waziristan's Miranshah area on Wednesday. A TTP faction calling itself Ansarul Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it is revenge for the killing of Hakimullah Mehsud by a US drone. The group's spokesman told the media, "We will continue such attacks in future as drones continue to kill our people." Notably, Ansarul Mujahideen, before it took up the drones' issue, had been busy attacking Parachinar's Shia community. It would be hardly surprising if it has had a hand in a spate of incidents involving sectarian violence in Rawalpindi and Lahore.
This group had also claimed responsibility for suicide bombing on a Peshawar church. At the time, the TTP had distanced itself from the atrocity that drew worldwide condemnation. But then the Taliban have no qualms about lying. Several times in the past they have claimed credit for acts of terrorism with which they had nothing to do like some high profile incidents in Western countries, and denying involvement in the face of evidence. As for the drones issue, the government has been trying to persuade the US to stop the strikes for being counterproductive. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif raised the issue in his UNGA speech as well. His government is also to move a resolution in the UNGA against unabated drone strikes which, it says, are violative of the country's sovereignty and harm its integrity. Islamabad can do little else than to put such moral pressure on the US. In any case, the TTP is not fighting the State because of drone strikes. True, the drones target its leaders too because they go into Afghanistan to participate in the war there on Afghan Taliban's side. That must hurt. But the TTP also has its own agenda of establishing a caliphate.
What the outfit's new leader Mullah Fazlullah did in Swat should leave no doubt in anyone's mind about these violent men's intentions. Still, the government has been trying to engage with them, apparently, in the hope of winning over 'reconcilable' elements through persuasion backed by a liberally-financed rehabilitation plan, reserving the use of military option for the others. The process may already be making progress, and could be the reason behind escalation in both sectarian violence and attacks on the security forces. The assault on the Miranshah checkpost came a day after a meeting of the newly-constituted Cabinet Committee on National Security (CCNS) reiterated the government's commitment to negotiate with the Taliban, and use other options only as a last resort. The same day the TTP issued an angry statement accusing the government of planning a military operation against it, saying it was ready for any action. The Miranshah bombing, amid escalation in sectarian violence, shows Mullah Fazlullah-led TTP is looking for a fight rather than a negotiated peace.
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Pakistan: Escalating TTP violence
At least five soldiers were killed and 34 injured in a car bomb attack at a security checkpost in North Waziristan's Miranshah area on Wednesday. A TTP faction calling itself Ansarul Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it is revenge for the killing of Hakimullah Mehsud by a US drone. The group's spokesman told the media, "We will continue such attacks in future as drones continue to kill our people." Notably, Ansarul Mujahideen, before it took up the drones' issue, had been busy attacking Parachinar's Shia community. It would be hardly surprising if it has had a hand in a spate of incidents involving sectarian violence in Rawalpindi and Lahore.
This group had also claimed responsibility for suicide bombing on a Peshawar church. At the time, the TTP had distanced itself from the atrocity that drew worldwide condemnation. But then the Taliban have no qualms about lying. Several times in the past they have claimed credit for acts of terrorism with which they had nothing to do like some high profile incidents in Western countries, and denying involvement in the face of evidence. As for the drones issue, the government has been trying to persuade the US to stop the strikes for being counterproductive. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif raised the issue in his UNGA speech as well. His government is also to move a resolution in the UNGA against unabated drone strikes which, it says, are violative of the country's sovereignty and harm its integrity. Islamabad can do little else than to put such moral pressure on the US. In any case, the TTP is not fighting the State because of drone strikes. True, the drones target its leaders too because they go into Afghanistan to participate in the war there on Afghan Taliban's side. That must hurt. But the TTP also has its own agenda of establishing a caliphate.
What the outfit's new leader Mullah Fazlullah did in Swat should leave no doubt in anyone's mind about these violent men's intentions. Still, the government has been trying to engage with them, apparently, in the hope of winning over 'reconcilable' elements through persuasion backed by a liberally-financed rehabilitation plan, reserving the use of military option for the others. The process may already be making progress, and could be the reason behind escalation in both sectarian violence and attacks on the security forces. The assault on the Miranshah checkpost came a day after a meeting of the newly-constituted Cabinet Committee on National Security (CCNS) reiterated the government's commitment to negotiate with the Taliban, and use other options only as a last resort. The same day the TTP issued an angry statement accusing the government of planning a military operation against it, saying it was ready for any action. The Miranshah bombing, amid escalation in sectarian violence, shows Mullah Fazlullah-led TTP is looking for a fight rather than a negotiated peace.
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