DID Press: While Pakistani military has announced that the deputy commander of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was killed in Bajaur area while entering Pakistan from Afghanistan territory, sources close to the Pakistani Taliban have rejected this narrative, saying he had been based inside Pakistan for months.
According to multiple sources, Qari Amjad, also known as “Mufti Mazahim,” was a key TTP figure, with the Pakistani government placing a bounty of five million rupees on him.
The Pakistani army announced on Thursday, October 31, that four militants, including Qari Amjad, were killed in border clash in Bajaur.
The army claimed that these individuals had crossed into Pakistan from Afghanistan territory.
However, sources close to the Pakistani Taliban offered a different account.
Same Yousafzai, a prominent Afghanistan journalist, wrote on social media on Monday, October 28, that Qari Amjad had been stationed in Bajaur and Dir regions for the past nine months, directing TTP operations from there. He emphasized that Qari Amjad “had not recently come from Afghanistan” and, according to TTP’s internal structure, commanders are required to maintain a permanent presence in their areas of responsibility.
While TTP confirmed the death of Qari Amjad and one of his associates in a statement, the incident has once again fueled Islamabad’s claims about Pakistani Taliban activity on Afghanistani soil, heightening tensions with Kabul.
Pakistan has consistently accused the Taliban government in Afghanistan of harboring TTP members and obstructing actions against them. In contrast, the Taliban have rejected these accusations and urged Islamabad to “address its internal security issues independently.”
These developments occur amid ongoing peace talks between the two countries, mediated by Turkey and Qatar. The first round of talks in Doha resulted in a temporary ceasefire, while the second round in Istanbul yielded little progress, extending only the ceasefire.
The next round of negotiations is scheduled for 6 November in Istanbul to discuss ceasefire monitoring mechanisms and Pakistan’s request for measures to curb TTP activities.