Opinion | How the Taliban can end the cycle of violence with Pakistan
The fragile ceasefire between the Taliban and Pakistan has broken, and there is now open war in South Asia. This week has seen a dangerous escalation between the former allies, starting when Pakistan carried out a series of air strikes on what it says were terror “camps and hideouts” in Afghanistan’s border provinces. Pakistan claims…
This week has seen a dangerous escalation between the former allies, starting when Pakistan carried out a series of air strikes on what it says were terror “camps and hideouts” in Afghanistan’s border provinces. Pakistan claims it killed 80 militants, whereas the Taliban says villages were hit and 17 civilians were killed.
The two have since engaged in a deadly tit-for-tat of ground and air attacks that have reportedly killed hundreds of Taliban militants and dozens of Pakistani soldiers. This includes air strikes by Pakistan on Kabul and Kandahar, as well as heavy fighting on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border that the Taliban says has resulted in the capture of Pakistani soldiers and several border checkpoints.
The TTP is a known Taliban affiliate. The two are ideologically linked, sharing a radical interpretation of Islam, and the TTP receives weapons and money from its patrons in Kabul. This has allowed the group to grow in strength and capability to wage an increasingly existential war against Pakistan’s military and government from its bases in Afghanistan.
