Pakistan based terror organizations such as Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba, operate training camps in various Afghan provinces, according to the UN. There are some organizations which are directly under Taliban control. According to a UN Member State, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), a Deobandi group is ideologically linked to the Taliban. It operates eight training camps in Nangarhar, three of which are directly under Taliban control.Â
According to the reports, Qari Ramazan has been named the new leader of the JeM in Afghanistan. Previously Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) was described as providing funding and training expertise to Taliban operations. It was commanded by Mawlawi Yousuf in Afghanistan and another LeT leader, Mawlawi Assadullah, met with Taliban Deputy Interior Minister Noor Jalil in October 2021.
A Taliban delegation visited a LeT training camp in the Haska Mena district of Nangarhar in January 2022. Three camps were believed to be maintained by the organization in Kunar and Nangarhar. Aslam Farooqi and Ejaz Ahmad Ahangar were former LeT members who later joined ISIL-K, according to the report.
According to the reports, there was no evidence of JeM and LeT presence in the region as a result of effective security operations targeting them. Also, the TTP, led by Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud, has benefited the most from the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan of all the international extremist groups. In Pakistan, it has carried out various strikes and activities.
The TTP also remains a stand-alone organization. Rather than being pressured to combine its fighters with Afghan Taliban groups, as most international terrorist fighters face. The group is made up of 3,000 to 4,000 armed men who are stationed along the Afghan-Pakistan border in the east and southeast.
Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in 2021
Following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August of last year, the Haqqani Network moved fast to seize control of critical portfolios and ministries. Thus, it includes interior, intelligence, passports, and migration, according to the report. The Haqqani Network has gained prominent de facto government positions. It includes those held by de facto Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani and de facto Refugees Minister Khalil Ahmed Haqqani, according to the report.
The ministries’ responsibilities appear to have been deliberately chosen. As they include the issuance of identity cards, passports, and the monitoring of people entering and exiting the country.
The Haqqani Network has also become the best militarily equipped faction. It commands a number of military units, including the Badri 313 Battalion, which is among the strongest in the world. According to the study, the Haqqani Network now controls much of Afghanistan’s security, including that of the capital, Kabul. The existence of these militias is claimed to be concentrated in the eastern provinces of Kunar, Nangarhar, and Nuristan. These militias operate under the Afghan Taliban’s umbrella.
According to the reports, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed had roughly 800 and 200 armed fighters. They are co-located with Taliban forces in Nangarhar Province’s Mohmand Darah, Dur Baba, and Sherzad districts, respectively.
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan also has a presence in Lal Pura District, which is near the Pakistani border with Mohmand Darah. Lashkar-e-Taiba has 220 fighters in Kunar Province. While Jaish-e-Mohammed has 30, all of whom are spread among Taliban troops, according to the report.