Pakistan army vows to eliminate Taliban offshoot as attacks rise

Pakistan’s army said it will act against terrorists and eliminate the “menace,” signalling a military operation against the local offshoot of the Afghan Taliban that has resumed attacks across the South Asian nation. 

Such a military offensive will add to the turmoil in Pakistan where ousted ex-premier Imran Khan is pushing for early elections and the government is trying to get bailout money from the International Monetary Fund. 

The country has also been on edge after the US embassy in Pakistan warned of a possible attack against Americans at Marriott Hotel in the capital Islamabad during the Christmas holidays. 

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, has been behind a spate of attacks and claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that killed a policeman and injured at least five people in Islamabad last week. 

The suicide bombing was the first in city in more than eight years and came less than a month after the TTP ended a six-month ceasefire with the government in late November and resumed attacks mainly targeting security forces. 

Top army commanders held a two-day meeting in the garrison town of Rawalpindi to review operations. “It was resolved to fight against terrorists without any distinction and eliminate this menace,” the Pakistan army’s media wing said in a statement after the meeting ended on Wednesday.

Pakistan has carried out several operations against the TTP in the past two decades but, apparently, without success of eliminating it completely. The TTP has enjoyed a resurgence after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in the wake of the chaotic US withdrawal in August last year.

Since the ceasefire agreement brokered by the Taliban government in Kabul collapsed, the TTP had increased attacks in Pakistan’s north and southwest. The Islamabad attack signals the militants are becoming emboldened and could start targeting more cities.

The TTP denied on Wednesday that it was targeting foreigners in its attacks, accusing the government of trying to pit several Western countries and Saudi Arabia against the militant group. 

“Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan is fighting the ruthless and occupying security institutions,” the group said in a statement. “This is clear to everyone that we don’t have any extraterritorial agenda.”

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