New Western alliance nods support to Pak against TTP threat

By Hamza Ameer
Islamabad, March 9 Pakistan is currently witnessing a resurgence of terrorism in the country, with continued attacks against civil and the military in major cities as well as the areas bordering Afghanistan.

With Pakistan's economical challenges, the porous border with Afghanistan paving the way for comfortable cross-border movement of terror outfits and concerns over a financially sustainable launch of counter-terrorism operation; a newly formed western alliance is giving a nod to the cash-strapped nation's case and is ready to own-up to the terror threat to Islamabad as a direct threat to the West at large.

It is in this view that the US and its key allies have identified the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terror outfit as a major threat not just to Pakistan but also to region and the West at large.

In a meeting held on February 20 in Paris, it seemed that the alliance group on Afghanistan, comprising several western nations, also agreed to Islamabad's view that TTP was operating from Afghanistan and was being facilitated by the Taliban regime in Kabul.

Special envoys and representatives for Afghanistan from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, European Union, Switzerland, the UK and the US were in attendance at the meeting to discuss the current situation of the war-torn nation.

"The most significant part of the joint statement of the Paris meet-up was the fact that the US and its Western allies voiced grave concerns over the increasing threat of terrorism groups, including the Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K), Al Qaeda, TTP and others in Afghanistan," said an official with knowledge of the meeting in Paris.

"The joint statement noted that these groups, including TTP deeply affect security and stability inside the country, in the region and beyond."

The joint statement also called on the Afghan Taliban to uphold the commitment they made to the world of not allowing their soil to be used for terrorism against any country.

Recognizing TTP as a threat to global security is a first on part of the Western bloc, something that will be welcomed in Pakistan.

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