Islamabad (TDI): A United Nations report has revealed that Afghan Taliban’s continued support for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), despite Islamabad’s increasing pressure to cease backing the outfit, was fuelling the group’s escalating attacks in Pakistan.
This was stated in the 35th report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team submitted to the United Nations Security Council.
The Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team is a panel of independent experts established by the UNSC to support sanctions implementation against individuals and entities associated with Al Qaeda, Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and associated groups.
The team submits biannual reports assessing the threat landscape posed by these groups to form global policy and security strategies.
The report, covering the period from July 1 to December 13, 2024, states the “status and strength of TTP in Afghanistan had not changed”, while the outfit intensified its assaults on Pakistan, conducting more than 600 attacks during the reporting period, many launched from Afghan territory.
Also Read: Pakistan Urges Action Against Afghanistan-Based Terror Groups
It highlighted that the Taliban continued to provide the banned TTP with logistical and operational space and financial backing, bolstering the group’s capacity to sustain its activities.
The report revealed that TTP leader Noor Wali Masoud’s family receives around $43,000 per month from the Afghan Taliban, reflecting a considerable level of financial backing for the terrorist group.
The TTP has also “set up new training centres in Kunar, Nangarhar, Khost, and Paktika (Barmal) provinces” while increasing recruitment, including from within the Afghan Taliban’s ranks.
Also Read: PM Asks Afghanistan to Take Action Against TTP
This expansion has contributed to the group’s continued status as the largest Afghanistan-based terrorist organization, with about 6,000 to 6,500 fighters.
The group’s increasing influence is linked to the Afghan Taliban’s continued ideological and historical ties with TTP.
