Devil Soul
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Afghan Taleban Supporting Financially Pakistan Militants
Both Groups Pose Risk To Pak Govt
WAZIRISTAN, Pakistan, Nov 25, (AP): The Afghan Taleban are financially supporting Pakistani militants at war with Islamabad and providing sanctuary for them in neighboring Afghanistan, the Pakistani Taleban’s spokesman said, highlighting the risk both groups pose to the Pakistani government. The disclosure, which the spokesman made Saturday in an interview with a small group of reporters, is meaningful because Pakistan has long been accused of pursuing a policy of differentiating between the Afghan and Pakistan Taleban as so-called “good” and “bad” militantseven though I s l a m a b a d denies this. P a k i s t a n has waged war against the Pakistani Ta l e b a n , which seeks to replace the c o u n t r y ’s democratic system with one based on Islamic law. But it has held off on targeting the Afghan Taleban, which has focused its attacks on US-led troops in Afghanistan. Pakistan has historical ties with the Afghan Taleban, and many analysts believe Islamabad views the group as a useful ally in Afghanistan after foreign forces withdraw.
Nexus
But the Taleban spokesman’s comments illustrate the dangerous nexus between the two groups. This link could become even more dangerous for Pakistan as the US withdraws most of its combat forces from Afghanistan by the end of 2014. That could give the Afghan Taleban more space to operate inside Afghanistan, which could benefit Islamabad’s enemies in the Pakistani Taleban. “The Afghan Taleban are our jihadi brothers,” Shahidullah Shahid said in an interview in Waziristan, the Taleban’s main tribal sanctuary in Pakistan along the Afghan border. “In the beginning, we were helping them, but now they are strong enough and they don’t need our help, but they are now supporting us financially.” The Afghan Taleban are also providing sanctuary for a prominent Pakistani Taleban commander, Mullah Fazlullah, in eastern Afghanistan’s Kunar province, said Shahid. Fazlullah was the commander of the Taleban in Pakistan’s northwest Swat Valley but was driven into Afghanistan when the Pakistani army launched a big offensive there in 2009. The army has also staged many offensives in Pakistan’s semiautonomous tribal region, the Taleban’s main sanctuary, but the militants have proven resilient and continue to carry out regular attacks. The Taleban have financed many of these attacks through a combination of kidnappings, extortion and bank robberies. But Shahid’s comments indicate these sources of financing do not always provide the funds they need. The government has more recently stepped up efforts to negotiate a peace deal with the Taleban, but those efforts do not appear to be making much progress. Shahid reiterated the Taleban’s view that peace talks will not succeed unless the government releases all militant prisoners and withdraws the army from the tribal region. He also demanded an end to US drone strikes targeting militants in the tribal region.
Reveal
The Taleban requested that the reporters not reveal exactly where in Waziristan the interview took place. Meanwhile, a bomb exploded in northwest Pakistan early Monday, killing six people taking part in an anti-polio campaign, a police officer said. The bomb went off just as a van drove by carrying security officials who were supposed to protect vaccinators as they went to local houses to administer the anti-polio vaccine, said police official Samiullah Khan. The incident happened in the village of Malikhel, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) outside the provincial capital of Peshawar. Four police officers and two members of a local peace committee riding in the van were killed, Khan said. Pakistan is one of three countries in the world where polio is still endemic. Part of the reason that it is still prevalent is that militants who oppose the campaign often target the workers delivering the vaccine and threaten people who want to get their kids vaccinated. Many Pakistanis also worry about having their children vaccinated because they view the vaccination campaign as a western plot to harm Muslims. During these vaccination campaigns, teams of polio workers often accompanied by police escorts go door to door in villages and towns to administer the vaccinations. The campaign targeted Monday had originally been scheduled for September, but was delayed over security concerns, said a health official. He did not want to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Both Groups Pose Risk To Pak Govt
WAZIRISTAN, Pakistan, Nov 25, (AP): The Afghan Taleban are financially supporting Pakistani militants at war with Islamabad and providing sanctuary for them in neighboring Afghanistan, the Pakistani Taleban’s spokesman said, highlighting the risk both groups pose to the Pakistani government. The disclosure, which the spokesman made Saturday in an interview with a small group of reporters, is meaningful because Pakistan has long been accused of pursuing a policy of differentiating between the Afghan and Pakistan Taleban as so-called “good” and “bad” militantseven though I s l a m a b a d denies this. P a k i s t a n has waged war against the Pakistani Ta l e b a n , which seeks to replace the c o u n t r y ’s democratic system with one based on Islamic law. But it has held off on targeting the Afghan Taleban, which has focused its attacks on US-led troops in Afghanistan. Pakistan has historical ties with the Afghan Taleban, and many analysts believe Islamabad views the group as a useful ally in Afghanistan after foreign forces withdraw.
Nexus
But the Taleban spokesman’s comments illustrate the dangerous nexus between the two groups. This link could become even more dangerous for Pakistan as the US withdraws most of its combat forces from Afghanistan by the end of 2014. That could give the Afghan Taleban more space to operate inside Afghanistan, which could benefit Islamabad’s enemies in the Pakistani Taleban. “The Afghan Taleban are our jihadi brothers,” Shahidullah Shahid said in an interview in Waziristan, the Taleban’s main tribal sanctuary in Pakistan along the Afghan border. “In the beginning, we were helping them, but now they are strong enough and they don’t need our help, but they are now supporting us financially.” The Afghan Taleban are also providing sanctuary for a prominent Pakistani Taleban commander, Mullah Fazlullah, in eastern Afghanistan’s Kunar province, said Shahid. Fazlullah was the commander of the Taleban in Pakistan’s northwest Swat Valley but was driven into Afghanistan when the Pakistani army launched a big offensive there in 2009. The army has also staged many offensives in Pakistan’s semiautonomous tribal region, the Taleban’s main sanctuary, but the militants have proven resilient and continue to carry out regular attacks. The Taleban have financed many of these attacks through a combination of kidnappings, extortion and bank robberies. But Shahid’s comments indicate these sources of financing do not always provide the funds they need. The government has more recently stepped up efforts to negotiate a peace deal with the Taleban, but those efforts do not appear to be making much progress. Shahid reiterated the Taleban’s view that peace talks will not succeed unless the government releases all militant prisoners and withdraws the army from the tribal region. He also demanded an end to US drone strikes targeting militants in the tribal region.
Reveal
The Taleban requested that the reporters not reveal exactly where in Waziristan the interview took place. Meanwhile, a bomb exploded in northwest Pakistan early Monday, killing six people taking part in an anti-polio campaign, a police officer said. The bomb went off just as a van drove by carrying security officials who were supposed to protect vaccinators as they went to local houses to administer the anti-polio vaccine, said police official Samiullah Khan. The incident happened in the village of Malikhel, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) outside the provincial capital of Peshawar. Four police officers and two members of a local peace committee riding in the van were killed, Khan said. Pakistan is one of three countries in the world where polio is still endemic. Part of the reason that it is still prevalent is that militants who oppose the campaign often target the workers delivering the vaccine and threaten people who want to get their kids vaccinated. Many Pakistanis also worry about having their children vaccinated because they view the vaccination campaign as a western plot to harm Muslims. During these vaccination campaigns, teams of polio workers often accompanied by police escorts go door to door in villages and towns to administer the vaccinations. The campaign targeted Monday had originally been scheduled for September, but was delayed over security concerns, said a health official. He did not want to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
