The Afghan defence ministry, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), confirmed that Pakistani forces had carried out the airstrikes. However, the Afghan Taliban claimed that the attack also caused casualties among civilians, including children.
On Tuesday (December 24) night, Pakistani fighter jets carried out airstrikes on four locations in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktika province, targeting camps linked to the banned group, Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). According to security officials, several suspected militants were killed or injured in the operation. The Afghan defence ministry, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), confirmed that Pakistani forces had carried out the airstrikes. However, the Afghan Taliban claimed that the attack also caused casualties among civilians, including children.
Sources revealed that the airstrikes targeted TTP camps in the Murgha and Laman areas of Bernal district. One of the camps was reportedly used by key figures, including Sher Zaman, also known as Mukhlis Yar, Commander Abu Hamza, Commander Akhtar Muhammad and the head of TTP’s media wing, Umar Media.
This was reportedly the second time since March that Pakistan had carried out an attack targeting what it claims are hideouts of the Pakistani Taliban, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), in areas along the Afghan border. Pakistan often accuses the TTP of using Afghan territory as a base to plan and launch attacks on its soil. However, Afghanistan’s government has denied these allegations.
The airstrikes happened on the same day that a Pakistani delegation, led by Special Representative Ambassador Muhammad Sadiq, visited Kabul. They met interim Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani and Foreign Minister Amir Muttaqi to restart diplomatic talks after a year-long break.
Pakistan has faced a rise in violence since the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), an ally of the Afghan Taliban, ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022. In 2023 alone, over 700 attacks claimed nearly 1,000 lives.
The Pakistani government blames the Afghan Taliban for giving shelter to the TTP. Over the years, Pakistan has tried different ways to control the TTP, such as holding talks, building a border fence with Afghanistan and urging the Afghan government to stop supporting the group. In October 2023, Pakistan expelled over 500,000 Afghan refugees and, in July 2024, a second phase began to expel another 800,000.
Pakistan has little control over the violence in its border areas with Afghanistan. It can no longer use its past support for the Taliban during the US war to stop the TTP. Pakistan is, thus, stuck in a problem it created itself. The Taliban leaders it supported during the 20-year war in Afghanistan are now protecting militant groups that attack Pakistan.
CAUSE OF CONFLICT BETWEEN FORMER ALLIES
Pakistan and Afghanistan have had a troubled relationship in recent years, but the main issues—disputes over the border and violence across it—have been problems for a long time. Since Pakistan became independent, no Afghan government, including the current Taliban leadership, has accepted the official border, says Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center. Both countries have also accused each other for years of hiding militants who launch attacks across the border, according to TIME.com.
The Durand Line, a border drawn during colonial times, spans over 1,640 miles (2,640 km) and officially separates Pakistan from Afghanistan. However, Afghanistan has never accepted this border and the
Taliban have taken an even tougher stance on the issue. This has led to several clashes between Taliban fighters and Pakistani soldiers working on border fencing, often causing the closure of key border crossings.
Border tensions have worsened because the Taliban have taken a more forceful stand on the issue, says Kugelman. The border runs through tribal areas mostly populated by Pashtuns, the largest ethnic group living on both sides. Pakistan has promised to finish building a barbed-wire fence along the internationally accepted border, but the Taliban argue that it divides families.
Now that the war in Afghanistan is over, the Taliban no longer rely on Pakistan for safe havens or wartime help. Instead, it is focussing on gaining more support within Afghanistan, where many people have always been suspicious of Pakistan’s government. According to Kugelman, by criticizing Pakistan, the Taliban hope to win some favour from among the Afghan people.
PRESSURE FROM CHINA CAUSE OF OPERATION?
Officials from Pakistan told BBC that the country’s new military operation is being carried out because of pressure from China. Many Chinese workers are involved in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects under the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative. In March, a suicide bomber, who Pakistan claimed was an Afghan citizen, attacked their convoy in northwest Pakistan, killing five Chinese engineers.
China has a lot of influence over the Taliban because it can invest in Afghanistan, which is struggling under sanctions. Kugelman explains that, if China uses the promise of investment to persuade the Taliban to reduce militant activities both inside Afghanistan and across the border in Pakistan, it would benefit both China and Pakistan.
PAKISTAN’S ONGOING BATTLE FOR STABILITY
The TTP was formed in 2007 as a group that brought together several hardline Sunni Islamist factions operating in Pakistan. This happened after Pakistan’s military launched operations against al-Qaeda-linked militants in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
Before merging with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2018, FATA covered 27,220 square kilometres along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan. The region was home to about 5 million people, mostly Pashtun tribes. It spanned a long, narrow strip with varying widths and included seven tribal agencies and six frontier regions. The region operated under a separate administrative system governed by colonial-era laws called the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR), which gave significant authority to tribal elders while limiting the role of Pakistan’s central government.
Known for its rugged terrain, tribal traditions and strategic location, FATA was historically challenging to govern due to its remote geography and the independence of its tribal communities. Following the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the region became a hub for such militant groups as the Taliban and al-Qaeda. In 2018, FATA was merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), a province in Pakistan, to integrate it into the country’s mainstream legal and administrative system. This merger aimed to improve governance, boost development and strengthen security in the region.
The TTP was formed under the leadership of Baitullah Mehsud, who is no longer alive. The group is based along the Pak-Afghan border. It is estimated that the TTP has a membership of around 30,000 to 35,000 fighters. While the TTP operates in regions populated by Pashtuns, it does not represent the Pashtun people as a whole. In fact, many Pashtuns oppose the TTP and have been victims of their violence.
The United Nations states that the main goal of the TTP is to overthrow Pakistan’s elected government and replace it with an emirate—a government led by a religious leader or ruler under Islamic law—based on their strict interpretation of Islamic principles. The TTP has tried to weaken Pakistan by targeting the
army and assassinating politicians. They have carried out many attacks, including suicide bombings, which have killed hundreds of soldiers, police officers and civilians.
The group has carried out some of the deadliest attacks in Pakistan, targeting such places as churches and schools. They were also behind the 2012 attack on Malala Yousafzai, who was shot for speaking out against their attempts to stop women from getting educated. Despite the attack, Malala survived and continued her campaign for education rights.
After the Afghan Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021, it gave new confidence to the TTP, whose leaders and fighters are hiding in Afghanistan. Since November 2022, when the TTP broke a ceasefire with the Pakistani government, attacks on Pakistani soldiers and police have increased. The ceasefire had been agreed upon during talks hosted by Afghanistan’s government in Kabul, but the discussions failed. In recent months, the TTP has carried out numerous attacks in Pakistan, killing and injuring many soldiers.
ROOTS OF CONFLICT & STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE
The main demand of the TTP is to undo the merger of FATA with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. This issue has remained a key focus for the group and they continue to push for it for several reasons. Although the TTP is not a single, unified group, its most influential faction has been the Mehsud group, mainly made up of Pashtuns, an ethnic community largely found in the FATA and KP regions of Pakistan.
The TTP uses the FATA regions to strengthen its operations and recruit new members because many local and migrant Pashtuns live in these areas. The TTP takes advantage of their unique political problems and dissatisfaction to gain support. Second, the FATA region gives the TTP a strategic advantage because of its location near the Afghan border. This allows the group to carry out cross-border operations and use Afghanistan as a safe hiding place. They also work with other militant groups, such as the Haqqani Network, taking advantage of shared ethnic and militant ties.
(Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author’s own and do not reflect those of DNA.)
(The author of this article is a Defence, Aerospace & Political Analyst based in Bengaluru. He is also Director of ADD Engineering Components, India, Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany. You can reach him at: girishlinganna@gmail.com)