US spy agencies declare TTP as 'future threat'

30-page report focuses on TTP's capabilities, historical ties to al-Qaeda

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ISLAMABAD:

As many as 18 US intelligence agencies have declared the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as a "potential future threat" to Washington.

A 30-page report prepared by the agencies and published on Tuesday said in South Asia, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) operations in recent years have focused exclusively on targeting the government of Pakistan, probably to avoid drawing more counterterrorism pressure.

"However, TTP's capabilities, historical ties to al-Qaeda, and previous support to operations targeting the United States keep us concerned about the potential future threat," the report notes.

Pakistan has long warned the international community, including the United States, about the global threat posed by the TTP. However, regional and international players have largely viewed the group as a threat confined to Pakistan.

The latest US intelligence community's assessment seems to have changed the approach.

Official sources told The Express Tribune that it was a welcome development that finally the United States has realised the danger posed by the TTP.

The recognition of the TTP as a threat to the US could strengthen Pakistan's fight against terrorist outfits. It may revive cooperation between Pakistan and the US while also increasing pressure on Afghanistan.

Pakistan has consistently maintained that the TTP operates from Afghan soil. That assessment was also corroborated by the UN Monitoring team, which described the TTP as the biggest terrorist outfit in Afghanistan under the Taliban rule.

Meanwhile, the US intelligence agencies' report also termed ISIS a major global threat. "ISIS's most aggressive branches, including ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K), and its entrepreneurial plotters will continue to seek to attack the West, including the United States, via online outreach and propaganda aimed at directing, enabling, or inspiring attacks, and could exploit vulnerable travel routes."

"ISIS-K in South Asia is the group's branch most capable of carrying out external terrorist attacks and maintains the intent to conduct attacks in South and Central Asia, and globally, although its capabilities vary," it adds.

"ISIS-K's mass casualty attacks in Russia and Iran in 2024, as well as arrests of ISIS-K supporters in Europe and the United States, highlight the group's expanding capability beyond South Asia and ability to inspire individuals to conduct attacks abroad," it further says.

Pakistan recently captured Muhammad Sharifullah, one of the masterminds of the August 2021 Kabul Airport attack. The suspect was handed over to the US, something that earned a rare praise for Pakistan from US President Donald Trump.