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"Arrival of more troops means more targets for Taliban," Gul, former spy chief, told IOL. |
ISLAMABAD — Months after closing ranks and grouping under one umbrella council, Taliban Pakistan is now being asked to direct attacks towards neighboring Afghanistan to help counter an American military buildup.
"Mullah Omer has strictly directed the newly formed militants' body not to attack Pakistani troops and concentrate on activities against foreign troops operating in Afghanistan," a senior intelligence official told IslamOnline.net, requesting anonymity.
Mullah Omar, the Taliban Supreme leader, had sent special envoys to Pakistan recently to discuss the new strategy with Baitullah Mehsud, Mullah Mohammad Nazir and Hafiz Gul Bahadur, the main leaders of Pakistan Taliban.
The move came after US President Barack Obama announced sending 17,000 more troops to war-torn Afghanistan.
"Unification of actual Jihadis is a natural outcome of the US Afghan policies, especially sending more American troops to Afghanistan," Lt General rtd Hameed Gul, a former chief of Pakistan's powerful Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), told IOL.
Eight years since the US invaded the country and ousted the Taliban regime, Afghanistan remains in the grip of almost daily attacks.
The three Pakistan Taliban leaders had agreed in November to burry their hatches and unite under the Shoora Ittehad-ul-Mujahiddin council to counter increasing US drone attacks on their tribal areas.
Baitullah Mehsud is the leader of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the largest militant group in the 700-kilometer tribal belt.
According to local tribesmen and intelligence sources, he commands 7,000 to 8,000 militants in South and North Waziristan.
Mullah Mohammad Nazir is a pro-government Taliban commander based in Wana, the capital of South Waziristan, commanding a militia of some 600 fighters.
Bahadur is a prominent militant leader in North Waziristan, which borders Paktika and Paktia provinces of northeastern Afghanistan, and commands 2000 trained militants.
More Trouble
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| "More troops mean more bloodshed, not only in Afghanistan but also in our tribal areas," Yusufzai said. |
The unification of Taliban groups in both Pakistan and Afghanistan is likely to increase attacks on US and foreign troops.
"Arrival of more troops means more targets for Taliban," says Gul, the former spy chief and an expert on Afghanistan.
"US troops, already present in Afghanistan, do not often come on ground. They stay inside garrisons or conduct air strikes, which mostly kill civilians, including women and children," he notes.
"But when new troops will arrive, they will have to show something. And if they come on the ground, there will be more chances of casualties."
Rahimullah Yusufzai, a Peshawar-based expert on Afghan affairs, also expects more attacks.
"More troops mean more bloodshed, not only in Afghanistan but also in our tribal areas," he told IOL.
"I see more drone attacks on Pakistani tribal areas and more bloodshed in Afghanistan following the induction of more US troops in so-called war on terror."
Former Pakistan army chief General rtd Aslam Baig believes that sending more troops will not yield any positive result for the US in Afghanistan.
"The arrival of US troops may increase number of casualties, but nothing more than that," he told IOL.
"America is fighting a lost war in Afghanistan."
Gul, the former ISI chief, shares the same conviction.
"There is a huge difference between Taliban and US troops. Taliban have a cause, and for that they are ready to sacrifice their lives, but the US troops are causeless."
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