Pakistani women have ties with terrorist groups in Afghanistan, govt document reveals

As many as 24 Pakistani women have been imprisoned with their children in Afghanistan for having ties with the so-called Islamic State's local chapter IS-Khorasan, an internal document of the Pakistan government has revealed. According to the South Asia Press, Pakistan's mission in Afghanistan has written a letter to the country's Foreign Ministry detailing the case of how several Pakistani women have been detained in different parts of Afghanistan for "militant activity."

Last month, Pakistani officials paid a visit to the Pul-e-Charkhi prison in Kabul, where female Pakistani prisoners along with their children are jailed, according to the internal document. "All these females and their children arc Daesh affiliated prisoners. A statement showing their names, addresses in Pakistan and their interviews recorded by the team is enclosed for Ministry's kind information," the South Asia Press report said.

This damning report stands in contrast with the Pakistani government's claim that the Islamic State group is not active in the country and that they do not allow people to cross over into Afghanistan to join terrorist groups. According to the report by the Paris-based news portal, Pakistani women joining terrorist groups in Afghanistan is reflective of a larger trend, ongoing since the last few years, where there are several cases of women in Pakistan being radicalised and leaving the country.

As the US continues with its final phase of drawdown from Afghanistan, concerns have been growing that some local terrorists in Pakistan could join the ranks of the Afghan Taliban in large numbers. As the September 11 deadline is drawing near, clashes have surged dramatically in Afghanistan, with terrorist groups attempting to capture more and more territory.

According to the Deutsche Welle, experts caution that Afghanistan is at risk of surging violence similar to that of the 1990s when the Taliban rose to power and thousands of Pakistanis joined the Afghan Taliban to fight the Northern Alliance. Although, the Afghan Taliban is banned in Pakistan, however, videos of Islamist groups have emerged, showing clerics soliciting support on Pakistani social media platforms.

The clerics in Pakistan are enticing people into joining the Taliban as state authorities turn a blind eye, said Muhammed Sarfraz Khan, the former director of the Area Study Center of Peshawar University. The withdrawal of foreign troops will have a severe impact on the northwestern and western provinces of Pakistan, he added.