ISLAMABAD: In a development that has sent ripples through the alreadystrained Pakistan-Afghanistan relations, Hafiz Gul Bahadur, the leader ofthe Ittehadul Mujahideen Pakistan, has issued a stark audio messagedirecting his commanders to cease recruiting and deploying foreignfighters, particularly Afghans, for operations inside Pakistan. Thisdirective, released just days ago and reported by The Khorasan Diary,carries explicit warnings of severe consequences for any violations.Security analysts view this as a subtle yet significant concession toIslamabad’s long-standing grievances regarding the use of Afghan soil andpersonnel in cross-border terrorism, potentially opening avenues forde-escalation while raising questions about the sustainability of suchinstructions within fragmented militant networks.
The timing of Gul Bahadur’s order appears far from coincidental, emergingagainst a backdrop of intensified pressure on militant groups operatingfrom Afghanistan. Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership hasrepeatedly asserted in recent months that the surge in terrorism plaguingthe country, including high-profile attacks on security forces, originatesprimarily from sanctuaries across the border. This narrative gained furthercredence through documented incidents in 2025, where foreign nationals,especially Afghans, were implicated in numerous suicide bombings andassaults in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and other regions. The instruction thusseems to reflect an internal response to mounting external scrutiny,possibly influenced by Afghan Taliban authorities keen to deflectinternational criticism over their alleged tolerance of anti-Pakistanelements.
Historically, Hafiz Gul Bahadur has commanded considerable influence inNorth Waziristan, leading a faction that once maintained uneasy neutralitytoward the Pakistani state but shifted toward active hostility followingthe 2021 Taliban takeover in Kabul. His group, now integrated intoalliances like the Ittehadul Mujahideen Pakistan, has collaborated with theTehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in claiming responsibility for attacks,including quadcopter strikes and suicide operations that claimed hundredsof lives in 2025. Despite this, the audio message marks a departure,suggesting that continued reliance on foreign fighters could jeopardizeoperational cohesion or invite harsher reprisals from both Pakistani forcesand Afghan hosts.
The directive follows closely on the heels of a significant religiousdecree issued in Kabul early last month by a council of over one thousandAfghan scholars. This resolution explicitly pledged that Afghan territorywould not be used against any foreign country, with provisions for punitivemeasures against violators. It echoed earlier statements by Taliban supremeleader Hibatullah Akhundzada, who had emphasized non-interference, thoughprevious pronouncements had largely been ignored by militant factions. Theconvergence of these developments indicates a broader effort by the AfghanTaliban to address regional concerns amid rising diplomatic isolation andpressure from neighbors, including Pakistan’s repeated demands forverifiable actions against groups like the TTP and Hafiz Gul Bahadur’soutfit.
Tensions between Islamabad and Kabul reached a critical point in October2025, when deadly border clashes prompted Pakistan to close majorcrossings, including Torkham and Chaman, disrupting trade valued atbillions annually and stranding thousands. The closure followed airstrikesand retaliatory fire, with Pakistan targeting alleged militant hideoutsbelonging to the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group and TTP in Afghan provinces likePaktika and Khost. Afghan officials denied facilitating terrorism,insisting such threats constituted an internal Pakistani problem, yet theprolonged border shutdown contributed to a notable decline in cross-borderattacks toward the end of 2025, according to security assessments.
Pakistan’s position has been reinforced by intelligence indicating thatmany terrorist incidents in recent years involved Afghan nationalsrecruited or trained across the border. This pattern has fueled calls forstronger bilateral mechanisms, though talks mediated by Qatar, Turkey, andothers have yielded limited progress. The audio message from Gul Bahadurcould be interpreted as a tactical adjustment to preserve militantcapabilities while responding to Afghan Taliban directives aimed atreducing foreign fighter involvement. However, skepticism remains high inIslamabad, where officials argue that verbal instructions alone may nottranslate into meaningful curbs without concrete dismantling of sanctuaries.
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The broader implications for regional stability are profound. If enforced,the ban could weaken the operational strength of groups like the IttehadulMujahideen Pakistan, which have relied on cross-border manpower to sustaininsurgency. Yet, the fragmented nature of these networks, with subgroupsoperating semi-autonomously, raises doubts about compliance. Meanwhile,Pakistan continues its counterterrorism operations, neutralizing hundredsof militants in 2025, while urging Kabul to fulfill commitments underinternational frameworks not to allow soil to be used for attacks. Thecoming weeks will test whether this militant leader’s order represents agenuine shift or merely a temporary measure to alleviate pressure.
Source:https://www.dawn.com/news/1965936/terror-kingpins-orders-vindicate-islamabad
Tags: Pakistan, Afghanistan, Hafiz Gul Bahadur, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan,Ittehadul Mujahideen Pakistanogimageimage-name
