Pakistan: the Swat Valley plunged into fear and violence of the Taliban of the TTP

Pakistani armed forces block the road leading to an anti-terrorist center after repelling the Pakistani Taliban and their hostage situation in Bannu, northwestern Pakistan, December 20, 2022. © Muhammad Hasib / AP

Text by: Sonia Ghezali Follow

3 mins

Pakistan is experiencing an upsurge in violence perpetrated by the Pakistani Taliban, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or “TTP”.

Earlier this week, a police station in Bannu, in the north-west of the country, was taken hostage for several hours by around 30 members of the TTP before they were killed in the assault by the forces. Pakistani specials.

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Since the beginning of 2022, the Pakistani Taliban group has reportedly carried out more than 300 attacks directed against the state and civilians.

In the north-west of Pakistan, in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the situation has

.

This province, bordering Afghanistan, is where the armed group is the most active and the most firmly rooted.

Attacks on police stations are regular there.

On Monday evening, at least 50 Pakistani Taliban militants

in the same province.

Two policemen were shot dead.

According to the Pak Institute for Peace Studies, around 433 people have been killed since August 2021, matching the Taliban's takeover in neighboring Afghanistan.

Since then, the TTP has been galvanized.

The organization has regained positions in areas along the border with Pakistan and their attacks have increased by 50%.

The civilian population, target of the TTP

If the security forces, which represent the power in place, are the main targets of the TTP, but the population is also directly threatened, especially in the Swat Valley.

This mountainous valley, 135 km north of Islamabad, crossed by turquoise waters and a tourist hotspot where trade has grown considerably in recent years, was under the domination of the armed group between 2007 and 2009.

But in recent months, with their return, the population of the region has once again descended into violence and fear.

Traders and the wealthiest are victims of extortion, threatened with kidnapping or assassination if they do not comply with the demands of the armed group.

Several peace activists have been murdered because they were accused of collaborating with the government and the army.

In October, this daily insecurity pushed thousands of people in the Swat Valley to take to the streets on several occasions, in particular to protest against the resurgence of violence committed by the TTP.

► To read also: The Pakistani Taliban claim responsibility for a suicide attack in the west of the country

Role of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan

The TTP remains a separate group from the Afghan Taliban.

They both share the same ideology and a common history, but do not hold the same claims.

The TTP was created in the tribal areas of northwest Pakistan in 2007, on the border with Afghanistan, by Pakistani jihadists who were allied with al-Qaeda.

The group was driven out of the tribal areas during a major operation launched by the Pakistani army in 2014. Many of its members then found refuge on the other side of the border, in Afghanistan.

Since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan, mediations have been conducted in Kabul by the Afghan Taliban in the presence of representatives of the Pakistani government and the TTP.

A cease-fire had been decided but it was never completely respected, since

, at the end of November.

As several analysts regret, the Afghan Taliban regime shows no desire to limit the movements of the TTP at the border while the situation is deteriorating day by day in western Pakistan.

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• Pakistan

• Taliban

• Terrorism