Islamabad:

As many as 18 US intelligence agencies have declared the forbidden Tehreek-E-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as a “potential future threat” for Washington.

A 30-page report prepared by the agencies and published on Tuesday said in South Asia, Tehreek-E-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) operations in recent years have focused solely on targeting the target of Pakistan’s government, probably to avoid drawing more combating terrorism.

“However, TTP’s abilities, historical ties to al-Qaeda and previous support for operations targeting the United States, are concerned with us the potential future threat,” notes the report.

Pakistan has long warned the international community, including the United States, about the global threat of TTP. However, regional and international players have largely considered the group as a threat limited to Pakistan.

The latest US intelligence community’s assessment seems to have changed the approach.

Official sources told The Express Pakinomist that it was a welcome development that the United States eventually realized the danger of TTP.

The recognition of TTP as a threat to the United States could strengthen Pakistan’s fight against terrorist clothing. It can revive collaboration between Pakistan and the United States, while also increasing pressure on Afghanistan.

Pakistan has consistently maintained that TTP works from Afghan Earth. This assessment was also confirmed by the UN monitoring team, which described TTP as the largest terrorist clothing in Afghanistan under the Taliban rule.

Meanwhile, the US intelligence agency report also called ISIS a major global threat. “Isis’ most aggressive branches, including Isis-Khorasan (ISIS-K), and its entrepreneurial plotters will continue to try to attack the West, including the United States, via online seeking and propaganda aimed at instructing, enabling or inspiring attacks and being able to exploit vulnerable itinerals.”

“Isis-K in South Asia is the group’s branch, which is most capable of carrying out external terrorist attacks and maintains the intention of carrying out attacks in South and Central Asia, and globally, although its capabilities vary,” it adds.

“Isis-K’s mass accident attack in Russia and Iran in 2024, as well as arrests by ISIS-K supporters in Europe and the United States, highlights the group’s expanding capacity beyond South Asia and the ability to inspire individuals to carry out attacks abroad,” it also says.

Pakistan recently caught Muhammad Sharifullah, one of Masterminds in August 2021 Kabul Airport attack. The suspect was handed over to the United States, something that gave a rare praise to Pakistan of US President Donald Trump.