Pakistan braces for ‘uptick in violence’ after Taliban ends ceasefire with government

Name: Wealthy residents and lawmakers in Pakistan threatened by Islamist group for ‘donations’
Uploaded: 2022-11-29T10:30:11.000Z
Duration: 2 min 40 s
Description: Wealthy residents and lawmakers in Pakistan threatened by Islamist group for ‘donations’

Armed group, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ordered militants to launch a nationwide campaign of attacks on Monday after ending a six-month ceasefire

Pakistan is preparing a counterterrorism offensive amid an expected wave of violence, while seeking help from the Afghan Taliban to mediate talks with TTP

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A Pakistan Taliban commander sits on an armed vehicle in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Photo: AFP/File

Tom Hussainin Islamabad

Published: 6:30pm, 29 Nov 2022Updated: 6:35pm, 29 Nov 2022

Pakistan is preparing a counterterrorism offensive amid an expected massive wave of violence after the country’s Taliban movement called off a shaky six-month ceasefire and ordered its militants to launch a nationwide campaign of attacks, analysts said.

If the ceasefire is not restored by last-minute diplomacy between Islamabad and the Afghan Taliban regime – which has mediated talks with the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) since seizing power in August 2020 – “the official end of the ceasefire will result in an uptick of violence in Pakistan”, said Abdul Basit, a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.

The last counterterrorism effort was launched in 2014, when some 6,000 militants were forced to flee to neighbouring Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s state minister for foreign affairs Hina Rabbani Khar flew to the Afghan capital Kabul on Tuesday to pursue a broad agenda including “regional security”, a spokesman in Islamabad said.

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Wealthy residents and lawmakers in Pakistan threatened by Islamist group for ‘donations’

Pakistani media, quoting anonymous sources, reported the minister would discuss a proposed plan for cooperation on counterterrorism between Kabul and Islamabad – including measures such as preventing TTP incursions into Pakistan.