ISLAMABAD: Law enforcement agencies have raided different locations in Balochistan to apprehend the Afghan Taliban, which could be seen an indication of Pakistan’s mounting pressure on the Afghan insurgents to come to the negotiation table, Daily Times learnt on Wednesday.
There was no immediate report of any arrest as most of the Taliban have already crossed into Afghanistan, sources said.
Sources say the LEAs conducted raids on religious schools, mosques and some houses in the outskirts of Quetta where they believed the Afghan Taliban could have lived in the past. However, Taliban sources say Taliban leaders had moved to southern parts of Afghanistan that are now under the Taliban control.
There was no word from the officials in Balochistan about the raids.
Afghanistan had long been claiming that Afghan Taliban leaders are living in parts of Balochistan. On its part, Pakistan says militants of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and other groups now operate from the Afghan side of the border.
In October 2016 Pakistan arrested three key members of the Afghan Taliban, including Ahmadullah Muti alias Mullah Nanai who served as intelligence chief under Mullah Akhtar Mansoor .
Suleman Agha, the Taliban governor for Daykund province, and Mullah Sani, also known as Samad Sani, chief of a religious school and a trader, who have links with the Taliban, had also been taken into custody. Taliban sources confirmed to Daily Times the Taliban leaders are still in Pakistan’s custody.
Pakistan LEAs raided several weeks after Pakistan conveyed to the Taliban leaders to join the political process, however, Taliban reiterated their longstanding stance not to talk to the Kabul administration as according to them it has no powers to make any decision, Afghan sources privy to the discussions have said.
Daily Times has learnt that Sheikh Abdul Hakim, a top Afghan Taliban religious cleric, left Pakistan after Eid and moved to Helmand fearing possible action by the Pakistani authorities.
Sheikh Hakim, the Taliban chief justice, is respected among the Taliban even more than the Taliban chief, Maulvi Haibtullah. Hakim was previously accessible to the Taliban leaders instead of Haibtullah as he has gone into hiding since his nomination as the Taliban chief last year.
Several other senior Taliban leaders, who have quit Pakistan including Sadr Ibrahim, the Taliban military chief and is now leading the Taliban fighters in southern and western provinces.
He has joined the governor of Helmand Mullah Muhammad Rahim, also known as Mullah Abdul Manan Akhund, governor of Kandahar Mullah Muhammadzai, Mullah Gul Agha, in-charge of the financial committee, and brothers of Mullah Akhtar Osmani, who was killed in a US airstrike in Helmand in December 2007.
Sources believe that the raids were conducted as part of understanding between Pakistan and Afghanistan to act against the militants on the basis of the lists both had exchanges in February this year.
In March then Pakistan’s foreign affairs adviser Sartaj Aziz and Afghan National Security Adviser Hanif Atmar in their meeting in London had agreed to make progress on the lists of wanted people.
Kabul had been insisting a third-party verification of the action in both countries; however, Pakistan supported on a bilateral mechanism.
Last month Afghan officials had claimed that a high-powered delegation of US senators led by Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain told Afghan President Ashraf Ghani that Pakistan has agreed to ‘joint operations’ against terrorist groups in the border region.
Pakistan military spokesman had denied the statement issued by Presidential Palace in Kabul after President Ghani’s meeting with the American senators.
Published in Daily Times, August 3nd 2017.
