ISLAMABAD: The UN Security Council’s decision to sanction Jamaat-ul-Ahrar – blamed for many deadly attacks since its launch in 2014 – has put a spotlight on the group at a times when it faces internal differences.
The UN website said Thursday that Jamaat-ul-Ahrar operates from Lalpura area in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province and Pakistan’s Mohmand tribal agency. The group is associated with Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and al Qaeda. Pakistan banned the group in November 2016.
The UN mentioning of JuA operating from Nangarhar is a formal acceptance of Pakistan’s longstanding claims. Afghan officials have never officially admitted that Pakistani militants have sanctuaries on their side; however, the UN statement has clearly mentioned the group operates from Nangarhar.
The UN took the decision on Pakistan’s request at a time when the group faces internal rift and its relationship nowadays is tense with the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, a militant leader aware of the group’s activities told Daily Times on Friday.
The JuA had recently arrested five TTP activists, who later escaped from their detention centre, he said.
JuA relations are also under pressure with a top Afghan Taliban commander Ziaur Rehman in Kunar’s Ganjgal area. Ziaur Rehman had lived for years in Bajaur and had fought against the Pakistani forces. He still has links with the TTP militants in Afghanistan.
The Afghan Taliban commander had closed roads on JuA militants in Ganjgal area and jirgas were held on Thursday and Friday to remove differences but no decision has yet been made. Furthermore, the outfit faces a shortage of funds and its organisational structure is also weakened. Its leaders are worried because of the measures taken by Pakistan to increase monitoring along the porous border that also include fencing. The military has listed Mohmand along with Bajaur and Khyber agencies as high-infiltration-prone border areas and fencing is underway in the first phase. Afghanistan has publicly opposed fencing of what it calls “Durand Line”. Pakistan and Afghanistan have nearly 2,600 kilometres of joint border, mostly porous, and Pakistan insists militants had been taking advantage of the loose border management. The militant leader went on to say that the JuA is weakened but still poses a threat to security in Pakistan. “The group has some suicide bombers, including Afghan nationals, for carrying out attacks to show their existence,” he said, adding that the group may shift focus on Karachi and Balochistan because of their importance and sensitivity. In February, JuA in a video announced the launch of “Operation Ghazi” named after Ghazi Abdul Rasheed, who was killed in July 2007 when the security forces raided Lal Masjid, Islamabad. The JuA also faces differences and the group announced expulsion of four senior leaders over their “activities against Islamic sharia and violating the group’s principles”.
However, a militant leader, who knew the expelled leaders, had told Daily Times that all were influential religious scholars and had enjoyed a lot of respect among the militants. But they had serious reservations over the group’s attacks on public places and killing of civilians, jailing own people and extortion of money from the people.
Earlier in April, Ehsanullah Ehsan, the group’s senior leader, surrendered to the security forces in a serious blow to the outfit. Ehsan was among the founding members who had launched JuA in 2014 after they parted ways with the TTP. He issued a chargesheet against JuA leaders and the TTP in a video, as well as in an interview to a private TV channel. The group mainly consists of Taliban militants from Mohmand Agency, who had never been on good terms with the TTP leaders even when they were part of it. The Mohmand militants were blamed for the failure of the much-publicised peace talks with the government in early 2014.
Pakistani forces shelled its hideouts in Lalpura area of Nangarhar in February after a series of terrorist attacks killed nearly 100 people in the country. The JuA had claimed some of the attacks.
Sources privy to JuA’s activities confirm the American drones have also killed some of the group’s fighters.
Published in Daily Times, July 8th , 2017.
