How do Pakistan and TTP play intelligence games?
By Abdul Naser Noorzad, Security and Geopolitics Researcher, specially for Sangar
We will divide this study into three parts. Part one is an overview of the nature and activities of TTP (Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan, TTP) and whether India supports TTP as Pakistan claims. Part two looks at why TTP serves Pakistan's interests. The final part points out that if TTP is a product of Pakistan's interests, then why is it attacking Pakistan's army and military installations, and have its attacks increased?
PART ONE
Is TTP a Proxy Group of India?
Pakistan's approach to the TTP issue should be considered extremely cautiously. It will always be questionable since it is a security and intelligence issue. How can TTP become a threat to Pakistan's vital interests and security? Let us ask ourselves: how can a factory of extremist thinking be threatened by its own product?
There is no way that the Pakistani military did not foresee the future of this product while manufacturing it. There are definitely and thoroughly implemented security and intelligence programs, which can be a valid reason for using the TTP card by Pakistan. Suppose I say that the Taliban and the TTP are in the same row and threaten Pakistan. In that case, I will be making a dangerous mistake because the only military, political, and economic weapons that Pakistan has had since its inception have been terrorist groups with radical views contrary to the dictates of the sacred religion of Islam.
Now, given the appeal of continuing the cat-and-mouse game, the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence Organization) that has made the TTP the leader of its regional security programs and destructive plans, we must note that several organized attacks with human casualties are unprecedented. To better understand the truth behind the story of the TTP’s increasing attacks in Pakistan and their growing presence in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, we need to take a closer look at the various aspects of the issue.
First, we need to determine whether the TTP is a separate entity from Pakistan’s security and intelligence policy and is continuing its attacks under Indian influence, or whether the truth, as suggested, is that ISI created and strengthened the TTP for its strategic purposes and is now exploiting its destructive potential. As a result, Pakistan is passing the buck and taking full advantage of it. For example, Pakistan has always accused India, its long-standing rival, of supporting the TTP. India’s relationship with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has always been a sensitive and controversial issue. While there is no official and irrefutable evidence of direct Indian support for the TTP, Pakistan has repeatedly accused India of supporting the group. These accusations are mostly made in the context of strategic competition between the two countries and attempts to weaken each other.
Pakistan’s claims about India’s relationship with the TTP have always been controversial. For example, Pakistan has repeatedly claimed that India provides financial aid and weapons to the TTP through secret networks in Afghanistan. These allegations are mainly based on the fact that India tries to use insurgent groups like the TTP to create instability in Pakistan’s border and interior areas. Apart from this, even Pakistan has made other claims regarding India’s ties with the TTP.
For this reason, after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, Pakistan claimed that India had used its presence in Afghanistan to establish ties and support groups like the TTP. Even some Pakistani officials view the TTP as a tool of India in a proxy war against Pakistan. They believe that India is seeking revenge for Pakistan’s support for militant groups in Kashmir and is using the TTP for this purpose. In any case, Pakistan’s claims about the India-TTP relationship are based on assumptions and political views rather than concrete facts.
So let's get back to the main story, which is caused by Pakistan's support and creation of the TTP, and this country is using the TTP for its purposes. The main points of Pakistan's goals in creating the TTP and the strategic depth of this country will be discussed in the second part.
(To be continued)
