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A Dangerous Ultimatum

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yesterday

A jirga was convened in Miranshah this week in which locals were given an ultimatum: either stop giving refuge to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or face a military operation. This is a bizarre turn of events that the region which has suffered the most from Pakistan’s reckless Afghan policy, is now being offered a solution so absurd.

Let us be clear, the TTP and the occupying forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan are not two separate entities. They are ideologically aligned and operationally connected. During the time of the Republic of Afghanistan, there was active suppression of the Taliban, which kept their operations in check. But after the fall of Kabul, that dynamic has changed. Maulvi Faqir Mohammed, a senior TTP commander released by the Taliban—alongside hundreds of others—the day after the Fall of Kabul, also declared that since Afghanistan was now under Shariah law, Pakistan must follow.

After Operation Zarb-e-Azb, the people of North Waziristan demonstrated time and again against the resurgence of Taliban. Their protests were brave and persistent, but largely ignored

Today, the Taliban have their own state. If an operation is launched in North Waziristan, TTP fighters will simply retreat to Afghanistan, something they have done time and again. The Afghan Taliban, long appeased by........

© The Friday Times