Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Mohammad Sadiq, has acknowledged that some Taliban fighters have defected to extremist groups including ISIS and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Speaking on Tuesday at the Institute of Regional Studies in Islamabad, Sadiq revealed that the Afghan Taliban are hesitant to confront the TTP due to fears that internal divisions could prompt further defections of their own fighters to ISIS. However, he confirmed that such defections have already occurred, with some Taliban members having joined ISIS, the TTP, and other militant groups.
This marks the first time a senior Pakistani diplomat has publicly admitted to defections within Taliban ranks to rival extremist groups. While Sadiq did not specify the motivations behind these defections, he highlighted the Taliban’s reluctance to act decisively against TTP elements operating from Afghan soil.
He criticised the Taliban for failing to address Pakistan’s persistent security concerns, despite diplomatic engagement including a recent visit to Kabul by Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. “It seems there are internal disagreements among the Taliban on this issue,” Sadiq said, alluding to reported tensions between the Kandahar-based Taliban leadership and the Haqqani network over how to manage the TTP.
Observers suggest that the Haqqani network, which holds significant influence in eastern Afghanistan, continues to provide shelter to TTP operatives, a major point of contention for Pakistan. Sadiq stressed that the TTP remains not only a direct threat to Pakistan’s security but also a serious obstacle to stable relations between the two neighbouring countries.
Reflecting on the past, Sadiq said there had been an opportunity to address the TTP issue following Pakistan’s military Operation Zarb-e-Azb in 2014, which drove many militants from North Waziristan into Afghanistan. Some remained behind as sleeper cells, complicating efforts to dismantle the group entirely.
He also lamented that the TTP issue was overlooked during the US-Taliban peace negotiations in Doha, which culminated in the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. Since then, militant violence has surged in Pakistan, with Islamabad claiming that groups such as the TTP operate freely from Afghan territory, an allegation consistently denied by the Taliban, who insist Afghanistan is not being used as a base for cross-border attacks.
According to Sadiq, the Taliban fear that cracking down on TTP may drive their fighters into the arms of ISIS-K, a rival extremist faction with whom they have a fraught relationship. “The Taliban control the cities, villages, and regions of Afghanistan, but they do not appear weary of war,” he said, pointing to ongoing instability and factional divisions within Afghan society.
Sadiq also disclosed that suicide bombers are sometimes trained in clandestine centres and then transferred or ‘sold’ to other extremist groups, further complicating the region’s security landscape. He noted that even under the previous Afghan government led by Ashraf Ghani, the TTP was recognised as a threat to Afghan national security, and several of its leaders were apprehended.
In closing, Sadiq reiterated that Pakistan’s future relations with the Taliban government would hinge on their commitment to curbing TTP activity and ensuring Afghan soil is not used to stage attacks against Pakistan.
