War clouds in the sky! – 24 hours |

Source: Radio Liberty

Umar, a high school student living in northwestern Pakistan, disappeared from his home last month. Weeks passed, he “WhatsApp“sent a short message to his family from neighboring Afghanistan.

“I have joined the TTP, I am saying goodbye to you forever,” the 17-year-old wrote.

Umar, whose family did not want his real name released, is one of many men and boys recruited by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group in the region recently. Local security officials say so.

The TTP, also known as the “Pakistani Taliban”, has been fighting Islamabad for 15 years.

The truce is over…

The group’s several-month ceasefire agreement with Islamabad expired at the end of November. The agreement was reached after more than a year of difficult peace talks. Since November 28, militants have launched a wave of bloody attacks targeting Pakistani security personnel.

The TTP is also blamed for the December 18 attack near the city of Bannu in northwestern Pakistan. Four in this attack the police employee was killed and four others were injured. Last month, TTP militants in the same area the police six by surrounding his group the police employee was killed.

The TTP has also claimed responsibility for attacks in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Baluchistan. On November 30, four people were killed and 26 injured as a result of a suicide bomber targeting a police truck.

Such a sharp increase in attacks has made Pakistanis seriously afraid. People are worried that violence will increase in the region next year. Even in the months before the end of the ceasefire, hundreds of TTP militants gathered in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in the south-west of the country and began to commit targeted killings, torture and rob local residents.

Army operations

Army wide in 2014 military the TTP was driven out of its bases in the “tribal belt” in northwest Pakistan by the attack. Most of its leaders and fighters were hiding in the mountains on the border with eastern Afghanistan. They are here afghan They lived under the protection of the Taliban.

The return of TTP to Pakistan has scared the local population.

During their merciless rule, the militants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa controlled the extremist version of Islam to the people, severely restricted their rights and freedoms, and took away the rights of women. Targeted killings, bombings, extortion and torture became a dominant part of everyday life.

of the Government of Pakistan military although their campaign resulted in pushing the TTP towards the border, it dealt a big blow to the local residents. Thousands of civilians lost their lives, millions of people were displaced from their homes, and large-scale destruction was caused.

Displacement

Shafqatullah and his family were also forced to leave their home in North Waziristan province in 2014. This is one of the former settlements of TTP. Shafqatullah’s family, like many families from the region, became displaced and had to live in poverty for years.

“In 2017, we returned to our territory hoping that the situation would improve. But again, everything goes in the wrong direction. We are afraid that we will lose our place again”, – four child says his father.

Nine people, including five militants, two security personnel and two civilians, were killed in three separate attacks in North Waziristan on December 6. In recent weeks, armed clashes between government forces and TTP militants have been taking place in this area.

“Because of this illegality, own village and we don’t feel safe in our cities. We see that the clouds of war are gathering again,” says Eid Rahman Vazir, a resident of North Waziristan.

59 attacks in one month

TTP claimed responsibility for 59 attacks in November. This 2018It is the highest number since . Militants claimed responsibility for 30 attacks in the first half of December. Most of the attacks targeted the military, police and security personnel.

Experts TTP this increase in the number of attacks of the armed group military they consider it a manifestation of increasing power.

Afghan The Taliban is accused of patronizing its ideological and organizational ally, the TTP. Experts say that last year USA the withdrawal of the army from Afghanistan also created conditions for the TTP to move more freely.

Afghan The Taliban is a longtime ally of Islamabad. Negotiations with the TTP were also held through the mediation of the Afghan Taliban.

Terms of the peace agreement

Pakistani media in summer offer announced the terms of the peace agreement. Reports said Islamabad had agreed to release hundreds of imprisoned TTP members, withdraw tens of thousands of troops from northwestern Pakistan, and impose sharia law in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The condition for TTP militants to return to the area with their weapons was still being discussed.

Offer The deal has angered citizens in Pakistan. In recent months, local residents in the northwest protest they held actions. Demonstrators expressed anger that the government has turned a blind eye to the return of TTP militants to Pakistan.

Abdul Saeed, an analyst who studies armed groups in Pakistan and Afghanistan, says the chances for a new peace initiative are not so great.

Analysts predict that Islamabad will favor a fight-and-talk strategy next year. They believe that Pakistan can put more pressure on the Afghan Taliban to help persuade the TTP to stop attacks and enter into talks.

Located in Washington USA According to Asfandiyar Mir, senior analyst of the Peace Institute, major military conflicts may occur in Pakistan in 2023 otherwise.