The Spectre of Terror

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), once called ‘good Taliban’, has become the bane of Pakistani security forces with the TTP frequently targeting them. Pakistan has experienced a dramatic increase in TTP-led attacks since the US handed over Afghanistan to Taliban in August 2021. Since mid-2021, TTP has claimed merger with 47 Pakistani Taliban factions, sectarian groups, as also Al Qaeda affiliates.

As of mid-March 2024, the TTP has killed about 2,000 Pakistanis, including police and military personnel. The Hafiz Gul Bahadur (HGB) group has joined TTP for launching attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and North Waziristan. Seven Pakistani soldiers, including two officers, were killed in a terrorist attack on a security forces’ post in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan district on March 16, 2024. Pakistan’s retaliatory air strikes inside Afghanistan on March 18 were to target suspected hideouts of TTP-HGB. In addition to TTP, the HGB group is also linked to the Haqqani Network and Al Qaeda.

In early May 2024, two videos published by TTP showed heavily armed TTP fighters patrolling in a broad day light in Dera Ghazi Khan district of Punjab province in Pakistan and night patrolling in Mirali tehsil of North Waziristan district of KPK. Dera Ghazi Khan has Pakistan’s largest nuclear facility to enrich Uranium for nuclear weapons. On May 10, 2024, more than 200 heavily armed TTP fighters were reportedly located in the vicinity of the nuclear facility in Dera Ghazi Khan. An attempt by the TTP to take over the nuclear facility can hardly be ruled out

On May 25, 2024, more than 25 Pakistan army personnel were and several vehicles set on fire in an attack by the HBG group on a post located near the Durand line in North Waziristan. Pakistan media is silent on the attack. The post is now occupied by HBG fighters.

KPK is virtually under control of the TTP-HGB. Babar Ali, a senior TTP commander recently said, “Entire country (Pakistan) is now under our control, we are present in every corner of Pakistan.” Notably, the TTP and the HGB group have been trending “Ghazwa-e-Hind” on social media since mid-March 2024. 

Making Afghanistan-AfPak the crucible of terror has been an American design. The Taliban, Haqqani Network, TTP, Al Qaeda, ISIS, HGB group and Pak-based terror groups are interlinked. The US gave birth to Al Qaeda in conjunction with Pakistan, and in tandem with Turkey-Jordan armed and trained the ISIS, which is presently employed in Afghanistan/South Asia, Central Asia and Middle East.

The CIA is funding two Pakistani SIGINT/COMINT stations on the Pak-Afghan border to monitor Taliban, TTP and Al Qaeda. These stations are to be operated by ISI’s Technical Division. But simultaneously, all these terrorist groups (Al Qaeda included) are also being ‘energized’ by the West in preparation of taking on Russia and China; in the backdrop of Russia winning in Ukraine.

The International Atomic Agency reports 168 incidents of nuclear material thefts in 31 countries during 2023, six of them related to trafficking and malicious use. South Asia, particularly India, could face radiological/low-yield nuclear terror attacks. The US-NATO is increasingly violating Russian redlines, which could force Moscow to use tactical nukes.  Al Qaeda already had nuclear technology. Its re-emergence, together with TTP’s efforts to acquire nuclear technology facility does not bode well for India.

The China-Russia joint statement during the recent visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Beijing has raised concern in the West. Former US President Donald Trump says he knows both Xi and Putin well and indicates this meeting bodes trouble. But Trump can only blame the POTUS Joe Biden for this; waging war on Russia using Ukraine as proxy. America wants outcome of the Ukraine War to be decided on the battlefield, leaving no option for negotiations, and Russia is ready.

Election fever has gripped America. Anthony Fauci and George Soros want to leave America if Trump is elected president in 2024

Fauci funded China’s P-4 lab in Wuhan that developed Covid-19 and Soros funded the recent unrest in American universities. Biden faced anti-war protests at the graduation ceremony of Morehouse College, Atlanta recently. But Biden, puppet of America’s Arms Lobby (Read Xi-Putin meet), wants to win another term any which way.   

The sweet pill given to India, with help of ‘Five Eyes,’ are reports that R&AW successfully eliminated many terrorists in Pakistan, as also Canada and made attempts in the US. This is hardly the case as per many an experts.

Decades back when R&AW was probing Pakistan’s Kahuta nuclear facility, ISI could eliminate every source. Would they let terrorist leader be eliminated today one by one by “unknown gunmen”?  But our media is extolling it as the emergence of an assertive “New India”. The West has succeeded in its information war by inflating egos of our political hierarchy, who are visibly smug.  

Pakistan occupied Kashmir (POK) has been witnessing prolonged protests against high prices of wheat flour and electricity. Speaking at the funeral of protesters killed by Pakistani security forces in POK, Dr. Tauqeer Geelani, leader of the Joint Action Committee, said, “We will expel the impure forces of India and Pakistan from the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Our movement is not about electricity and flour, but our war is for freedom and we will expel the army and corrupt bureaucrats from our land.”

In the words of Geelani, the Joint Action Committee of POK is seeking independence. However, ministers of India’s ruling party are suddenly talking of taking back POK; an action that requires: creating a favourable ground situation; arming and coordination with dissident groups; earmarking adequate forces while continuing the standoff with China along the 4,057-km Line of Actual Control (LAC); set up required to “administer” POK after taking it back.

Did the US give a hint to our political hierarchy to go for POK, guaranteeing US-NATO support? But India must take into account the presence of a brigade-worth of PLA in POK and Chinese warnings to US forces (when deployed in Afghanistan) that Beijing will if Pakistan is attacked. Chinese engineers helping Hamas in constructing tunnels is no surprise. China has been developing tunnels in POK over the past several years under the pretext of hydel projects, but some are suspected to house missiles.

Any offensive plans to retake POK must take the above factors into consideration, without which, it would be playing into the US hands; war between India and China-Pak and facilitating US-NATO pivot to Indo-Pacific. George Soros has been funding to destabilize India. ISIS is attempting to enter India from all directions but  this is not all; The Guardian has revealed that Meta and Instagram approved political ads containing AI-manipulated images to spread disinformation and incite religious violence during India’s ongoing elections – with obvious approval of the US administration?

Finally, having failed to nail China directly in any ‘Quad’ statement because of India’s reluctance to do so, the US has established ‘Squad’ replacing India with Philippines in the latter. The recent US threat of sanctions because of the India-Iran deal on Chabahar is only one indication of American sincerity. Earlier, Joe Biden called India “xenophobic”.  The US can be expected to do everything to tame India into its Rule-cum-Rogue based order. This includes subjecting India to terrorism of every kind.

The author is an Indian Army veteran. Views expressed are personal.