MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th July, 2020) The Pakistani Armed Forces do not view the presence of thousands of members of the outlawed Pakistani affiliate of the Taliban group in neighboring Afghanistan as new or a larger threat than before, and the country's forces are well-prepared, the Pakistani military's media and PR wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), told Sputnik.
Last week, the United Nations' Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team released a report saying that between 6,000-6,500 Pakistani insurgents mostly belonging to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group are hiding in Afghanistan, with some having formerly joined the IS (Islamic State terrorist group, banned in Russia) affiliate there. The document said that the TTP and its splinter cells were expected to align with the IS, noting that the presence of Pakistani insurgents in Afghanistan posed a threat to both countries.
"The threat is neither new or larger that what it was years back. Our preparation is up to the mark," the ISPR said in comments to Sputnik.
According to the service, Islamabad "has sufficiently strengthened its border security mechanism along the entire Pakistan- Afghanistan border," including through fencing and monitoring.
The TTP has carried out numerous attacks against Pakistani civilian and military targets in the past.
Afghanistan is suffering from an unstable political, social and security situation due to the activity of the Taliban movement and the IS.
