WASHINGTON
\nThe blacklisted Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) aims to push the government of Pakistan out of Khyber Pakh\u00actunkhwa and establish Sharia by waging a terrorist campaign against the military and state, a US State Department report warns.
\nAccording to the 2021 Country Reports on Terrorism, the TTP uses the tribal belt along the Afghan\u00acistan-Pakistan border to train and deploy its operatives.
\nTTP draws ideological guidance from Al Qaeda, while elements of AQ rely in part on TTP for safe haven in the Pashtun areas along the Afghan-Pakistan border.
\n\u201cThis arrangement has given TTP access to both AQ\u2019s global terrorist network and its members\u2019 operational expertise.\u201d State Department report notes action taken against India-focused militant groups, regrets failure to dismantle such outfits
\nThe report also names major terrorist groups that focused on conducting attacks in Pakistan, including TTP, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), and the militant Islamic State-Khorasan group (IS-K).
\nThe report on terrorism notes that Pakistan \u201cexperienced significant terrorist activity\u201d during the year in review, i.e. 2021.
\nUnderlining the link between terrorism and lack of economic activities, the report points out that \u201cthe United States provides assistance to support trade and economic growth\u201d in Pakistan.
\nThe US assistance to Pakistan includes partnering with US businesses, civil society, and the regions bordering Afghanistan. \u201cThis assistance is intended to improve the lives of the Pakistani people and support US objectives,\u201d the report explains.
\n\u201cThe United States continues to support people-to-people exch\u00acanges to alleviate misunderstandings and complications in the bilateral relationship.\u201d
\nIn 2021, separatist militant groups conducted terrorist attacks against varied targets in Balochistan and Sindh provinces. Terrorists used a range of tactics to attack varied targets, including Improvised Explosive Devices, Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices, suicide bombings, and targeted assassinations.
\nThe report acknowledges that Pakistan took steps in 2021 to counter terror financing and to restrain some India-focused militant groups. Pakistan reviewed and revised its 2015 National Action Plan (NAP) to counter terrorism, reducing the NAP from a 20-point plan to 14 key points.
\nBut the report complains that Pakistan made meagre progress on the most difficult aspects \u2014 specifically its pledge to dismantle all terrorist organisations without delay or discrimination.
\nThe report identifies IS-K as another group which poses a significant threat to Pakistan and is composed primarily of former TTP members, the Afghan Taliban, and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. It is estimated to have between 3,000 and 5,000 fighters and has claimed responsibility for attacks on civilians and government officials in Pakistan.
\nIS-K, elements of Al Qaeda, and terrorist groups targeting Pakistan, like TTP, have continued to use the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region as a safe haven.
\nThe report notes that Pakistan-focused terrorist groups continue to conduct attacks against Pak\u00acistani military and civilian targets.
\nThe report also mentions Pakistan\u2019s pledge to \u201censure that no armed militias are allowed to function in the country,\u201d but complains that attackers continued to operate from Pakistani soil in 2021. The report identifies the Haqqani Network, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT), and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) as the groups that carry out such attacks.
\nThe report claims that although \u201cPakistan took some steps in 2021 to counter terror financing and to restrain some India-focused militant groups, authorities did not take sufficient action to dismantle them\u201d.
\nThe report commends Pakistan\u2019s commitment to combat the trafficking of items that could contribute to the development of WMDs and their delivery systems. \u201cPakistan was a constructive and active participant in IAEA-hosted meetings and in the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism,\u201d it adds.
\nThe report also highlights Washington\u2019s cooperation with Islamabad on regional security and counterterrorism, noting that the US government provides robust law enforcement, counternarcotics, and rule of law assistance for Pakistan, as well as limited def\u00acence, counterterrorism, and anti-money laundering assistance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON The blacklisted Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) aims to push the government of Pakistan out of Khyber Pakh\u00actunkhwa and establish Sharia by waging a terrorist campaign against the military and state, a US State Department report warns. According to the 2021 Country Reports on Terrorism, the TTP uses the tribal belt along the Afghan\u00acistan-Pakistan border to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":316883,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-316865","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n