What is behind the rising violent attacks in Pakistan?

Pakistan Taliban has denied involvement within the Peshawar mosque blast, however officers say it has intensified assaults since November.

A suicide blast in a mosque in Peshawar was one of many deadliest assaults in Pakistan in a decade [Fayaz Aziz/Reuters]

Pakistan has been reeling from a lethal suicide bombing at a mosque situated inside a high-security police compound within the northwestern metropolis of Peshawar amid an increase in assaults prior to now a number of months.

At the very least 100 folks had been killed and greater than 200 wounded within the deadliest assault in a decade. A commander of the Pakistan Taliban, additionally recognized by the acronym TTP, claimed duty for Monday’s assault wherein virtually all of the victims had been police officers.

However quickly after, TTP spokesperson Mohammad Khurasani distanced the group from the bombing, saying it was not its coverage to focus on mosques or different non secular websites.

The Pakistan Taliban has been blamed for greater than 100 assaults since strolling out of a ceasefire with the Pakistani authorities final November.

Right here we check out the Pakistan Taliban, which has waged an armed rise up within the nation for 15 years:

Why is the Pakistan Taliban combating?

Angered by Pakistan’s cooperation with the US in its “conflict on terror”, TTP was formally fashioned in Pakistan in 2007 when totally different outlawed teams agreed to work collectively in opposition to the federal government and assist the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan, which was combating US and NATO forces.

“As soon as the so-called conflict on terror began, it led to 1000's of individuals in tribal belt being killed by state motion in addition to American drones. This additionally triggered a number of resentment as [it] resulted in many individuals deciding to select up arms,” mentioned Abdul Sayed, a Sweden-based researcher on armed teams in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Pakistan determined to cooperate with the US when it invaded Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 assaults. US forces focused armed teams, together with TTP, alongside the Pakistan-Afghan border for many years.

Washington-Islamabad ties have remained chilly since 2011, when al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was killed by US forces within the Pakistani metropolis of Abbottabad. The US accused Pakistan of sheltering the Taliban and al-Qaeda leaders.

The ties additional deteriorated within the wake of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, however it appears to have warmed up because the removing of Imran Khan as Pakistan’s prime minister final April. Khan opposed US drone raids in Pakistan tribal areas.

Amongst its many calls for, the Pakistan Taliban seeks stricter enforcement of Islamic legal guidelines, the discharge of its members in authorities custody, and a discount in Pakistani army presence in elements of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the province bordering Afghanistan that it has lengthy used as a base.

One in all their key calls for is to reverse the 2018 merger of Pakistan’s tribal districts from the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

For a lot of the previous two years, the TTP insisted it was taking actions solely as defensive measures. However it stepped up assaults on Pakistani troopers and police since November when it unilaterally ended a ceasefire with the federal government. The months-long ceasefire had been brokered by the Afghan Taliban.

The Pakistan Taliban has repeatedly warned police not to participate in operations in opposition to its fighters in border areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Researcher Sayed says the area was already ripe for armed battle as a result of colonial-era legal guidelines that had been seen as counter to tribal customs and in some circumstances discriminatory.

The tribal area with greater than seven million inhabitants, which was merged into the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in 2018, was ruled by the Frontier Crimes Rules (FCR) legislation. Enacted by British colonial rulers in 1901, the FCR allowed the punishment of total tribes for crimes dedicated by members.

Riccardo Valle, a Venice-based researcher with The Khorasan Diary – a non-partisan platform run by journalists, says it's evident that armed organisations thrive on the dearth of socioeconomic alternatives and take benefit in its absence.

“It's protected to imagine that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, together with tribal districts, have been uncared for for years by the central authorities, whereas on the identical time, its folks have suffered the brunt of the conflict in opposition to terrorism and the backlash of the insurgency in Afghanistan,” he instructed Al Jazeera.

Valle says ever because the ascension of its new chief Noor Wali Mehsud, the TTP has modified the tone and tenor of its propaganda, notably highlighting the fundamental wants of individuals similar to water, gasoline and electrical energy.

“The brand new chief put an emphasis on the dearth of providers and alternatives for the folks within the area,” he mentioned.

“With the deteriorating financial scenario within the nation, the TTP will increase its likelihood of capitalising on these grievances,” he instructed Al Jazeera.

Mohsin Dawar, Pakistani legislator from North Waziristan, one of many seven tribal districts, says folks’s vulnerabilities had been exploited by armed teams.

“Armed teams do reap the benefits of folks’s distress as a result of lack of amenities and infrastructure and persuade them to hitch ranks,” Dawar instructed Al Jazeera.

“The merger of tribal districts into mainstream can't be thought of a significant explanation for improve in militancy because it has been there for 20 years and been occurring throughout the board. Nevertheless, armed teams do reap the benefits of folks’s distress as a result of lack of amenities and infrastructure and persuade them to hitch ranks,” Dawar mentioned.

What's the relationship between the Taliban and the Pakistan Taliban?

The Pakistan Taliban is separate from however a detailed ally of the Taliban in Afghanistan. The Taliban’s return to energy appeared to have emboldened the TTP, which shares its ideology.

Pakistan Taliban fighters used to cover within the nation’s tribal northwest and likewise had sanctuary in Afghanistan, however they largely lived as fugitives.

Nevertheless, Pakistani authorities have accused the Taliban of sheltering the TTP fighters and releasing its leaders arrested by the earlier administrations in Kabul.

The Taliban has repeatedly mentioned it could not enable anybody, together with the TTP, to make use of Afghan soil for assaults in opposition to any nation, together with Pakistan. However Pakistani officers say there's a disconnect between the phrases and actions of the Taliban, which may cease the TTP from launching assaults in Pakistan however failed to take action.

The Pakistan Taliban’s operations have largely been aimed toward concentrating on Pakistani forces, just like the Taliban’s agenda of kicking overseas forces in a foreign country. The US-led forces left Afghanistan in August 2021.

Why has violence elevated not too long ago?

Safety analysts worry that Pakistan will see a surge in violence within the coming months because the nation grapples with an unprecedented financial disaster amid political instability.

Pakistan has seen innumerable armed assaults prior to now 20 years, however there was an uptick since November, when the TTP ended the months-old ceasefire.

The Pakistan Taliban repeatedly carries out shootings or bombings, particularly within the rugged and distant northwestern Pakistan, a former TTP stronghold.

The violence has raised fears amongst residents of a potential army operation within the former tribal areas of North and South Waziristan, now two districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Hours after Monday’s mosque bombing, Inside Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan instructed the impartial Geo Information channel that Taliban rulers of Afghanistan should stand by their dedication to the worldwide neighborhood to not enable anybody to make use of their soil for assaults in opposition to one other nation.

“They need to honour their guarantees,” he mentioned.

However appearing International Minister of Afghanistan Amir Khan Muttaqi on Wednesday mentioned Pakistani authorities ought to keep away from “sowing seeds of enmity” between the 2 nations.

“We advise them to conduct an intensive investigation into the Peshawar bombing,” Muttaqi mentioned.

Extra reporting by Al Jazeera’s Abid Hussain in Islamabad, Pakistan