On March 22, three armed attackers infiltrated the Frontier Corps Southern Base at 3:30am in Tank district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. What followed was a seven-hour gun battle between the troops and the attackers who were later identified as affiliates of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

The attack represented one of boldest attempts by the militant group in recent months after a process to negotiate a peace settlement with the state for a year and a half.

“Seven soldiers, including one from the paramilitary Frontier Constabulary, embraced martyrdom,” District Police Officer Waqar Ahmad told The News on Sunday. “The attackers, who were in their early 20’s climbed over a ladder through a remote end of the security compound.One of the attackers was shot dead while trying to get in. The other two were holed up near the residential compound.The operation took a long time because these attackers were heavily armed,” said Ahmad. “However, all three were killed near the staircase without managing to enter the residential quarters which could have been catastrophic. There were 22 injured soldiers when the operation concluded,” he said.

Pictures of the dead attackers released by the authorities showed that they were armed with M-4 Carbine, assault rifles with “Property of US government” stamped on them. The TTP later released the picture of the attackers and identified them as Saifullah, Hamza and Khalid.Sources said that a family from Bannu had identified one of the attackers as a nephew who had left home a couple of years ago to join the group.

After the Taliban took over Afghanistan on August 15, it was widely believed that the Pakistani Taliban and their affiliates would stop fighting against the state of Pakistan considering the American war in Afghanistan had ended.

However, that has not been the case. The negotiation process with the Taliban has not borne fruit despite the release of nearly 100 affiliates of the group as a gesture of goodwill. “After the suicide bombing at a mosque in Peshawar by the ISKP in early March, public sentiment and the government credibility will were both dented,” an official close to the matter told TNS. “There have been individual surrenders by members of various militant factions living in Afghanistan.Around 160 families that had escaped operations have surrendered,” the official with direct knowledge said, explaining that the last meeting of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cabinet had given an official nod for the re-opening of the Deradicalisation Centre –Mashal in Swat valley, where all those that have fallen under the influence of terror networks will be treated.

The TTP announced a series of attacks under what the group is calling its Al-Badar operation, during the month of Ramazan.The announcement was made through a lengthy statement by the group. There have been 10 attacks during the month of Ramazan so far.

The TTP, on the other hand, has announced a series of attacks under what the group is calling Al-Badar operation, during the month of Ramazan.The announcement was made through a lengthy statement by the group. There have been 10 attacks claimed by the TTP during the month of Ramazan so far.

The TTP has been using thermal cameras and laser guided guns, first seen in an attack at the border post in Kurram tribal district. “There was always an apprehension that the American equipment left in Afghanistan would fall inthe wrong hands,” a counter terrorism official said. “Although the TTP has gone for a full-fledged attack against Pakistan, the group is not as strong as it used to be at some point,” said the official. “It is a continuous process. You mop up the mess then it reappears once again… There are many reasons.To change that, there needs to be a major shift in policy,” he concluded.

Analysts who have been monitoring these developments believe that the TTP is under pressure to deliver to keep its relevance.The group is being sidelined by the globally feared Islamic State of Khurasan, an affiliate of the Islamic State that once held territory in Syria and Iraq.

Talking to The News on Sunday,Rupert Stone, a journalist and analyst covering South Asia, said that the TTP had been able to bounce back in Pakistan due to the sanctuary it enjoyed in Afghanistan. “The Afghan Taliban apparently tolerate the TTP presence on their territory.They will not be able to expel or suppress the Pakistani Taliban without potentially alienating some of their own fighters, who might see such a move as a betrayal of loyal allies and defect to the ISKP as a result.”

When the ISKP was at its peak in 2016, they claimed 3,000-9,000 fighters in Afghanistan.With the passage of time and as a result of targetted operations that number has decreased to almost 3,500-4,000 fighters. This is still more than enough to threaten regional peace as the ISKP is quite brutal in its ways.

The TTP has been targetting the security forces only, the ISKP has also tried to attack civilian crowds. A suicide bomber they use can cause way more casualties than anaverage TTP fighter. That is why the TTP’s latest attacks and their density have shown a desperate attempt by the outfit for keeping themselves relevant. In July 2020,the TTP gave a detailed statement in which they claimed that they were against the ISKP ideology.

The TTP can deny the strategic presence of the ISKP in the tribal areas of Pakistan but its sleeper cells are widely known to be intact. Under influence from the Afghan Taliban,the TTP is trying hard to attract support of the masses.

The writer is a   freelance journalist and a former editor