A newly surfaced video is challenging the Afghan Taliban’s longstanding claims that the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its splinter faction, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, have no presence inside Afghanistan.
The footage purportedly shows Umar Makram Khorasani, the chief of the banned Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, visiting the grave of the group’s founder, Umar Khalid Khorasani, in Afghanistan’s Paktika Province.
The video directly contradicts repeated assertions by the Afghan Taliban, as well as narratives promoted through Taliban-linked platforms, including Al-Mirsad, which have consistently denied that TTP and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar leaders operate from Afghan territory.
Security observers say the footage lends support to Pakistan’s longstanding position that members and leadership of these designated terrorist groups continue to reside in Afghanistan, where they allegedly plan and coordinate cross-border terrorist attacks against Pakistan.
The emergence of the video is expected to fuel renewed scrutiny of the Afghan Taliban’s repeated denials regarding the presence of Pakistani terrorist organizations inside Afghanistan.
