Taliban to relocate TTP fighters from border to other provinces of Afghanistan

Reports say that the Taliban are planning to relocate members of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from border areas to other provinces in Afghanistan.

This decision comes after months of discussions between the Taliban, Pakistan, and China.

According to sources, the Taliban in Afghanistan are working to move TTP fighters from areas along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, particularly in Khost province, to other provinces in Afghanistan.

However, the TTP has expressed concern over the Taliban’s decision to relocate their fighters, and negotiations on this matter are still ongoing.

This decision follows recent attacks in Pakistan and an assault on Chinese citizens in Besham, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Efforts to prevent Taliban attacks have intensified, mediated by China, after an attack on a vehicle carrying Chinese engineers in Besham, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which resulted in at least six deaths, including five Chinese nationals.

The Pakistani government has accused the Taliban of sheltering Pakistani Taliban fighters since their return to power. Now, the Afghan Taliban plans to relocate these fighters from border areas to northern and western provinces, though specific locations remain unspecified.

In May 2023, a senior Pakistani official told Turkey’s Anadolu Agency that Islamabad agreed with the Taliban’s Ministry of Interior to relocate Pakistani Taliban fighters from the border to western Afghanistan.

Anadolu Agency reported that Pakistan would fund this relocation. The Afghanistan Movement Party (Hezb-e-Junbush Milli) spokesperson warned that moving TTP to northern provinces could turn these areas into another Gaza.