The Taliban in Pakistan are loyal to IS: A tiger has gained wings.
(Baonghean) - While the US-led international coalition's fight against the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) has yet to make any significant breakthroughs in completely eliminating the group, the Pakistani Taliban has just pledged allegiance to IS and ordered fighters in the region to assist the group in its campaign to establish a global Islamic state. This move by the Taliban could further strengthen IS's ability to expand its influence beyond the Middle East, causing great concern for the international community.
(Baonghean) - While the US-led international coalition's fight against the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) has yet to make any significant breakthroughs in completely eliminating the group, the Pakistani Taliban has just pledged allegiance to IS and ordered fighters in the region to assist the group in its campaign to establish a global Islamic state. This move by the Taliban could further strengthen IS's ability to expand its influence beyond the Middle East, causing great concern for the international community.
In a message marking the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha, the Pakistani Taliban affirmed their full support for ISIS's goals. A Taliban spokesperson stated that the Taliban has already sent between 1,000 and 1,500 fighters to the Middle East and will continue to send more to assist ISIS in the coming period. Currently, ISIS controls vast territories in both Syria and Iraq and is infiltrating South Asia, a region long influenced by local Taliban insurgency movements fighting against the governments of both Pakistan and Afghanistan. With the Taliban declaring allegiance to ISIS, ISIS's influence is certain to expand beyond the Middle East. Evidence of this includes recent appearances by ISIS supporters in Peshawar, northwestern Pakistan, distributing leaflets praising ISIS. Even ISIS flags have appeared at street rallies in the Indian-controlled territory of Kashmir.
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| Members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan group. Photo: AP |
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While ISIS is somewhat weakened in the Middle East due to strong attacks from the US-led international coalition, the loyal support of the Taliban in Pakistan, South Asia, will allow ISIS to significantly consolidate its strength and have a chance to break free from its encirclement in the Middle East. In Pakistan, one of the world's most populous Muslim countries, the Taliban's influence is considerable. Furthermore, the image of ISIS, with its barbaric executions, is not widely known among Muslims in remote areas of Pakistan. International concern is that ISIS's image could be distorted in Pakistan, attracting the support of many distant Muslim tribes. Similar to Iraq and Syria, as ISIS expands its influence into Pakistan, Muslims there are likely to be swayed by ISIS propaganda portraying their struggle as a religious duty to protect Muslims from attacks.
Although there is currently little evidence of a solid alliance between IS and al-Qaeda-linked Taliban commanders in Pakistan, the similarities in their operational strategies, particularly their goal of establishing a global Islamic State, mean that the Taliban and IS could potentially link up to form a force spanning the Middle East, Central Asia, and South Asia. In that case, completely eliminating IS would require the US and its coalition to expand the war, a daunting task given IS's vast operational area. With the Pakistani Taliban openly supporting and allying with IS, IS is clearly empowered, and the current US-led war against the self-proclaimed Islamic State will face significant challenges and is unlikely to end anytime soon.
Nguyen Cao Bien
