Links Between Taliban, TTP ‘Strong, Symbiotic’, Says UN report

The link between the Taliban and Al-Qaeda and Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) remains strong and symbiotic, according to a report published by the United Nations (UN).

The fourteenth report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team of the UN Security Council’s 1988 Taliban Sanctions Committee, released on Friday, highlights the increased manoeuvre for a range of terrorist groups under the Taliban, Dawn newspaper reported.

“They are making good use of this, and the threat of terrorism is rising in both Afghanistan and the region,” the report read, a copy seen by the Pakistani newspaper.

“While they have sought to reduce the profile of these groups and conducted maintaining links to numerous terrorist entities, the Taliban have lobbied member states for counter-terrorism assistance in its fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province (ISIL-K), which it perceives as its principal rival.”

According to the report, the Taliban forces have carried out operations against ISIL-K in a general sense, but they have not fulfilled the counter-terrorism provisions outlined in the UN peace deal.

The report also indicates signs of Al-Qaeda rebuilding its operational capabilities, the TTP launching attacks into Pakistan with support from the Taliban, foreign terrorist fighters posing a threat across Afghanistan’s borders.

It also shows that the operations of ISIL-K are becoming more sophisticated and deadly, though not necessarily more frequent.

Moreover, the UN report also stated that the group was battling internal conflict over key policies, the centralisation of power and the control of financial and natural resources in the country.

However, the Afghan Taliban has dismissed the report, referring to it as “full of prejudice.”

In a statement, the group said that “rumors of disagreement between the leaders of the Islamic Emirate are in particular the continuation of the propaganda of the past twenty years.”

“We strongly reject the assessment of this report that the Islamic Emirate is helping the opponents of neighboring and regional countries or using the territory of Afghanistan against other countries…” the statement added.

The latest UN report is consistent with past assessments that TTP and other armed groups carry out their operations from Afghan territory.

The Taliban facilitated peace negotiations between the TTP and Pakistani security officials with the aim of resolving the ongoing violence within Pakistan.

However, the talks broke down last year due to the imposition of stringent conditions by both parties involved.