Differences between extremists in Afghanistan and Pakistan

Islamic Extremism

Pakistani Prime Minister and his entire cabinet were in Peshawar city where the Taliban targeted children in a brutal attack. Pakistan’s government is said to be planning a major and serious response. There are air strikes being reported in a remote border region against the Taliban. For more than a decade, Taliban spilled over from Afghanistan into what has become a very violent region of Pakistan. However, there are some distinct differences between the extremists in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

CCTV America’s Sean Callebs reported this story.

It’s the deadliest attack Pakistani Taliban has ever unleashed. Scores killed and millions, around the world are horrified.

“All of these groups who are seen to be competing to do even worse crimes than the others, ISIL, Boko Haram, Taliban and others. I think this act shows how extreme these groups are prepared to be and it’s really important that nobody supports them anymore,”
Rupert Coleville, OHCHR spokesman said.

Even Taliban militants, fighting U.S and Afghan forces, are trying to distance themselves from the attack by Pakistani Taliban extremists on Peshawar school children.

“This is not a monolithic group. The Afghan Taliban has utterly repudiated this attack and the Afghan Taliban for all its brutality in Afghanistan has never conducted attacks like this in Pakistan,” Jonah Blank, foreign policy expert from Rand Corp said.

In contrast to the Afghanistan Taliban, the Tehrik-i-Taliban is considered a broad coalition of perhaps as many as 30 splinter groups. The so-called TTP is not directly affiliated with the Afghan Taliban which is led by shadowy figure Mullah Omar. They do share similar ideals — keeping girls from getting an education, making women remain covered from head to toe and rejecting democracy. But regional experts say this mass school killing may unify Pakistanis to stand up against the TTP.

“Today’s violence, killing 132 innocent children that may be this is what it takes to galvanize the Pakistani people and especially the military to decide to turn against the violence extremism once and for all in all its forms” Blank said.

After U.S led forces invaded Afghanistan, many Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters fled -seeking a haven in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas or FATA. These extremists gradually radicalized the area and targeted their attacks at Pakistan’s Islamabad government. The TTP says it was behind the attempt to kill Malala Yousafzai – the teenager who just last week received the Nobel Peace Prize.

The loose affiliation between the TTP and the Afghan Taliban has led to a complicated problem for Pakistan’s army. For years, Pakistani military intelligence has worked to support the Afghan Taliban but at the same time fought the Pakistani Taliban.