Shedding Light on Roots of Crisis in Kheybar Pakhtunkhwa and the Effective Actors

As the clashes unfold, media report clashes in Kurram region of Kheybar Pakhtunkhwa province. Reports said that 80 were killed following shooting at buses in a route between Parachenar and Peshawar. Following the incident, new wave of a conflict between Shiite and Sunni sects has encompassed Kurram region.

On Thursday, a convoy of 200 passenger vehicles was targeted on the Parachinar-Peshawar route, leading to death of women, children and the elderly. Most of the victims were Shiites from Parachinar.

On Friday, a large number of locals attended the funeral of the victims and held demonstrations demanding that the provincial and central governments of Pakistan stop the ongoing atrocities against the people of Parachinar.

On Monday, after a week, the death toll in the conflict in Kurram has exceeded 100. In addition to killing their opponents, the conflicting tribes also set fire to public property, agricultural lands, markets and residential houses. The media say that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government has failed to establish a ceasefire in Kurram. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur says that now is not the right time to visit Parachinar and peace must be established first. Local officials are criticizing the security forces for negligence or inattention and argue that it is suspicious that the security forces had only 6 guards for 200 vehicles. 

Given the significance of the issue, Alwaght has talked to Indian Peninsula expert Ismail Bagheri to get a comprehensive picture of the activities of radical groups in Pakistan and also examine the roots of power gain of these fundamentalist groups. 

Geopolitical roots of crisis 

Mr Bagheri at the beginning of the interview said the roots of crisis in Kheybar Pakhtunkhwa lie in the push by the TTP to establish "Free Pashtunstan" region. He added that this province was created as an independent province by merging the Free Tribal Areas and the North-West Frontier Province during the Nawaz Sharif government. At that time, the capital of the North-West Frontier Province was Peshawar. Currently, the capital of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province is Peshawar. The only region that can be mentioned for its importance is the Free Tribal Area, which consists of seven districts. These regions are: 1- North Waziristan, 2- Khyber, 3- Kurram, 4- Mohmand, 5- Bajaur, 6- Orokzai. 

This province is located on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. It starts from the south of Nangarhar in Afghanistan to the south of Kandahar province, which borders Kandahar province. The length of this province is about 800 kilometers. This region has been disputed by Afghanistan and Pakistan, which recognize this border as the "Durand" border line. This is a line that is recognized by Pakistan. However, this it has never been accepted by Afghanistan because it argues that this line is imaginary because the "Durand" agreement that was signed in 1893 and this century-old agreement ended in 1993. One of the reasons for the current crisis in Afghanistan is this border line.

The second issue is continuity of Pashtun ethnicity. Pashtunstan are divided in two parts, one in Afghanistan and one in Pakistan. In fact, the third issue is the "Free Pashtunistan" debate, in which the Pashtuns of Pakistan seek to establish their own autonomous state in the Free Tribal Areas, which were previously merged with the North-West Frontier Province and are called Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Another issue has to do with the type of ideological continuity and a radical version of Islam embraced by the Taliban both in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Because both are from the Pashtun sect and were able to attract Baloch and Arabs from other tribes in Central Asia to their groups. Indeed, in addition to this, support is provided to them by the Western intelligence services like CIA, Mossad, and MI6. It is said that Pakistani Taliban and the Afghan Taliban are ostensibly separate from each other, but ideologically they are very close, though the Taliban claims that it does not support the Pakistani Taliban and that no elements of the TTP are harbored in Afghanistan. Still, Islamabad accuses current rulers of Afghanistan of supporting the TTP. 

Another issue that highlights the role of security agencies is the complexity of TTP and ISIS terrorist group aggravated by negligence of Pakistani army. Actually, Pakistan for reasons has not been able to check the militias backed by Western intelligence agencies. 

Footprints of foreign intelligence agencies

The political expert described the power gain of radical and terrorist groups as a result of actions by groups backed by foreign intelligence agencies. He added that ISIS-Khorasan is an outcome of the foreign agencies especially the Americans and their agents. They seek to inflame ethno-sectarian war between the Shiites and Sunnis in Parachenar. This issue has various aspects and each side takes advantage of it in a specific way, with the biggest beneficiaries being the Americans who are seeking to destabilize the regional order. So, when the TTP carries out terrorist attacks, it is driven by foreign agencies. 

Bagheri: Pakistan should know that the outcome of trust in the US is continuation of terrorist attacks by the TTP against the Pakistani military. 

Bagheri ruled out possibility of a deal between the Pakistani government and the TTP, adding that if Pakistan accepts negotiations, it will effectively mean that it has recognized the group. This is also the most important goal of the TTP and the reason for their increased attacks in border areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province is to force the Pakistani government to negotiate. 

The Taliban in Afghanistan have voiced their willingness to mediate between them because the Pakistani government considers the Afghan Taliban to be involved and guilty in this matter and believes that the Taliban government does not control the activities of the elements of the TTP present in Afghanistan. If the Pakistani government is willing to negotiate, it must give in to their demands, and if it does not negotiate, these attacks will continue. The most important point in this regard, which will continue the crisis for the Taliban movement, is the alliance of extremist Baloch movements with this group, which may be temporary and aimed at achieving a common goal or may not be temporary and designed for future plans. Although small in number, the Punjabi and Sindhi Islamist movements are practically dangerous and the Pakistani government is therefore not willing to negotiate with them. The pessimistic scenario is that terrorist attacks and incidents will increase, but the Pakistani government will be more attentive of Balochistan in order to reduce the risks. Unfortunately, in recent years, unbalanced development and neglect of Balochistan have led them to back the TTP. 

Role of Wahhabi madrassas 

Mr Bagheri added that another point is the security control and the need for Pakistan not to allow degenerate groups like the Wahhabis to propagate their agenda and faith that injects life into the TTP. The Pakistani government is trying to control madrassas (religious schools) in the country, but in practice, due to the freedom of propagation in the past, it has made it much more difficult to contain them.

Chaos scenario with American support 

Bagheri described the weapons support provided by the West, especially the US, as the main driver behind the growth of extremist ideology in Pakistan and the countries of the region. He held that as we have witnessed, the largest number of terrorist attacks have occurred in Pakistan this year, and this will not be a good sign for the security of Pakistan and the region. Ideologically, just as the Taliban sought an Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan, the TTP also believes that they should first establish the Islamic Emirate of Pakistan in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. When the Taliban succeeded in Afghanistan, since there are multiple groups active in Afghanistan, the TTP united under the Taliban. 

The process of unity of various groups under one faction like the TTP worked in Afghanistan. As a result, this coalition was formed in Pakistan, too. Unfortunately, the weapons that were provided to these groups are not even available to the Pakistani military. It is clear that these weapons and military equipment are provided to these groups by the US. The formation and rise of terrorist groups such as the TTP is also supported by the West.

Mr Bagheri at the end held that the Pakistani government's inaction towards the killing of the Shiites plays into the hands of the US plot for the region. The partition of Pakistan like the "new Middle East" plan that is being implemented in Syria and is also eyed for Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran is the ultimate plan of the West. Unfortunately, the Pakistani army, knowingly or unknowingly, is taking steps that are actually helping to implement the American plan and divide Pakistan. The silence and inaction of the Pakistani army towards those who carry out terrorist attacks against the Shiites of Parachinar, or even in Quetta or other areas, serves the American plan.