The Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan has given Pakistan its own Taliban movement an opportunity to rise up, having in the past waged a violent war against the Islamabad government.
They appear to be planning to retake control over the tribal areas they have lost almost seven years ago to Pakistan's military. Already, the influence of Pakistani Taliban is growing. Local contractors have reported that Taliban have imposed surcharges on all contracts and the execution of anyone who defies them.
A contractor called Noor Islam Dawar constructed a small canal near Mir Ali, Afghanistan, in September. It was worth less than $5,000. The Taliban still called, demanding $1,100. According to local activists and relatives, Dawar didn't have anything to offer and begged for their understanding. He was shot and killed by unknown gunmen a week later. His family blames Taliban.
The Taliban in Pakistan, also known as the Tehrik-e-Taliban (or TTP), is an independent organization. However, they share a lot of the same ideology and are allied. TTP was founded in 2000 and began a campaign to bomb Pakistani cities and take control of many tribal areas. It was repressed by the military crackdown in 2010.
However, the TTP was already reorganizing itself in Afghanistan's safe havens even before the Afghan Taliban seized Kabul on August 15.
"The Afghan Taliban's astonishing success in defeating America's superpower has encouraged the Pakistani Taliban...They now appear to believe that they too can wage successful jihad against the Pakistani state 'infidel' and have returned back to insurgency mode," stated Brian Glyn Williams (University of Massachusetts Islamic History Professor) who has written extensively about jihad movements.
In recent months, the TTP has increased its attacks. According to the Islamabad-based Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, more than 300 Pakistanis have been murdered in terrorist attacks since January. This includes 144 military personnel.
Amir Rana, the executive director of the Islamabad-based Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies, stated that the events in Afghanistan have also inspired a number of radical religious parties in Pakistan.
These parties openly denigrate minority Shiite Muslims and sometimes bring thousands of people to the streets to defend their hardline Islam interpretation. The Tehreek-eLabbaik Pakistan has one agenda: to defend a controversial law on blasphemy. This law has been used against minorities as well as opponents, and can be used to incite mobs of murder simply for the accusation that someone insults Islam.