Dawn: TTP Becomes Heavy Political and Security Burden on Taliban

DID Press: Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper, citing the latest UNSC assessment, reports that the presence of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has deepened internal rifts within the Taliban and turned the group into a costly liability for the authorities in Kabul.

According to the report, while the Taliban continue to insist that Afghan territory is not being used for cross-border attacks, international bodies have dismissed the claim as implausible, and neighboring countries increasingly view Afghanistan as a source of regional insecurity.

The UN assessment cited by Dawn says there are divergent views within the Taliban regarding the TTP, with some leaders now describing the group as an “unnecessary burden” that has severely damaged relations between Kabul and Islamabad without any clear justification.

The newspaper notes that longstanding ties between the Taliban and the TTP, combined with the lack of internal consensus, have constrained the Taliban’s ability to take decisive action against the group. UN monitors have warned that even if there were political will, the Taliban may lack the operational capacity to fully contain the TTP.

The report adds that the consequences of the TTP’s presence extend beyond security. Repeated closures of border crossings with Pakistan—often in response to TTP attacks—are costing Afghanistan an estimated $1 million a day, disrupting trade and livelihoods.

According to the UN assessment, the TTP carried out more than 600 attacks in Pakistan in 2025, many of them complex operations involving suicide bombings and vehicle-borne explosives. A significant number of the suicide attackers were reportedly Afghan nationals.

The report also estimates that around 6,000 TTP fighters are based in Afghanistan, primarily in the provinces of Khost, Kunar, Nangarhar, Paktika and Paktia. UN sources say the group’s leader, Noor Wali Mehsud, is in Kabul, and that one UN member state has claimed his family receives about three million afghanis a month from the Taliban.

In conclusion, Dawn writes that TTP has become a heavy political, security and economic burden for the Taliban—one that has pushed Kabul–Islamabad relations to a breaking point and intensified regional and international pressure on the Taliban.