UN report warns TTP, JUA target Pakistan from Afghan bases

The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its splinter group, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, continue to target Pakistan from their bases in Afghanistan, according to a new UN report on the activities of the terrorist groups from around the world.

The report says that the TTP leadership is operating from Afghanistan, including Noor Wali Mehsud, supported by his deputy, Qari Amjad, and TTP spokesperson Mohammad Khorasani. It has claimed responsibility for various high-profile attacks in Pakistan and facilitated by the JuA and the Lahskhar-e-Islam.

All of these terrorist groups are targeting Pakistan and are responsible for the killing of innocent civilians, the report points out.

It also cautions about the significant presence of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant-Khorasan (ISIL-K) in Afghanistan, which the UN warns now pursues a global agenda. The UN report states that the ISIL-K considers Afghan territory as a base for spreading terrorist influence across the wider region.

Al Qaeda, the UN report says, is covertly active in 12 Afghan provinces and its leader Aiman al-Zawahiri remains based in Afghanistan. The UN has estimated a total number of Al Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan between 400 and 600.

In addition, the UN report warns of a strong presence of ISIL-India in Kerala and Karnataka. The ISIL-India first came into global limelight after the Easter bombing in Sri Lanka. The investigators found links between Indian nationals and terrorist attack in Sri Lanka.

The UN is concerned about the growth of ISIL-India, particularly in south India and its threat to the neighbouring states — Sri Lanka and the Maldives. According to diplomatic sources there is now pressure on India to curb the financing from the ISIL-India to its affiliates in line with the FTAF recommendations to prevent terrorist financing.