Taliban Reinforced Durand Line with Deployment of Fresh Troops

Khost, February 13, (Kubha News) – Taliban has mobilized troops from Kandahar, Ghazni, and Maidan Wardak provinces in the border areas of Khost.

Sources suggest that this deployment aims to prevent potential infiltration by IS-KP from tribal areas into Khost and its neighboring provinces. This strategic maneuver aligns with the recent appointment of Mullah Bismillah Abdullah as the current governor of Khost.

According to a reliable source close to the Taliban, new Taliban forces are stationed at border security checkpoints in Alishir, Zazi Maidan, and Gurbaz districts of Khost province. While areas influenced by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan show low concern regarding Islamic State influence, the Taliban maintain vigilance in regions spanning from Nangarhar to Kunar and Nuristan, perceiving a heightened risk of IS-KP presence.

According to the source, in response to potential security threats, “the Taliban has set up vehicle crossing roads along the Durand Line in specific areas to enhance efficient patrolling and traffic monitoring.”
Previously, Haqqani network fighters were predominantly stationed along the Durand Line in areas adjacent to North Waziristan.

The Taliban government, despite downplaying the significance of IS-KP activities in Afghanistan, grapples with persistent concerns over the infiltration of Pakistani splinter militant groups into the country.

In a January interview with the Indian newspaper Sunday Guardian, Ehsanullah Ehsan, the former spokesman of the Pakistani Taliban, alleged that Islamabad aims to transfer the ISIS group to Afghanistan for use as a proxy. Ehsan accused Pakistan’s intelligence agencies of harboring IS-KP commanders in their guest houses.

In a November 2023 televised interview, Pakistan’s Acting Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar issued a warning to the Taliban, stating that if they failed to control Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) attacks, Pakistan might not exercise restraint. Kakar, speaking with Geo News, questioned the potential repercussions, saying, “If people like ISIS or other similar groups are with us and go to Afghanistan and blow themselves up in Kabul, Kandahar, and Jalalabad, then what will be the reaction of Taliban and Afghans?”

Analysts specializing in Afghanistan and Pakistan affairs express concerns that Islamabad’s efforts to pressure the Afghan Taliban to control the TTP have not yielded significant results, with apprehensions arising that Pakistan may mobilize other militant groups under the IS-KP umbrella as leverage against the Taliban.

The Taliban government consistently denies reports regarding the presence of Pakistani and foreign fighters along the borders of Afghanistan.
The relationship between the Taliban government and Pakistan has further deteriorated following the appointment of Syed Asim Munir, Chief of the Army Staff of Pakistan.

This report was Crafted by the Kubha News team and edited by our editorial staff.