Squeezed by Pak Army, Taliban joining Daesh: US

WASHINGTON: The US commanders on the ground in Afghanistan believe that former Pakistani Taliban, Afghan Taliban and others on the run were squeezed by the Pakistan army and now joining the ranks of Daesh to gain hold.

"Part of it is due to the fact that Pakistan has been a push over the last couple of years, put a significant effort against the Taliban. Some of that Taliban that was in Afghanistan, either Afghan Taliban or Pakistani Taliban has been pushed into Afghanistan, and we have seen some of those elements rebrand themselves as Daesh," said Brigadier General Wilson Shoffner, Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan while briefing the media here at Pentagon on Friday.

Though, he said, Daesh presence has been thinned down from roughly seven provinces to just one district in Nangarhar province over the last few months. In the same breath he also warned, "that doesn't mean that they're not a strategic threat to Afghanistan, that doesn't mean they're not a strategic threat to the region, that doesn't mean we take them any less seriously."

Gen Shoffner commended Pakistan army saying "we have been pleased with Pakistan's efforts in two ways: one, their pressure against the Taliban in Pakistan. And then also their agreement to put pressure on the Taliban to join the peace process."

He said, the US has been engaged with Pakistan diplomatically regarding the peace process, and General Campbell met with General Raheel to discuss Pakistan's role as well. "Afghan government and the Pakistani government have a regional approach to dealing with problems in the area. It ant just be an Afghan approach or a Pakistan approach; it has got to be a regional approach, because the international terrorists here do not - or the terrorists here do not respect the international boundaries," he said.

Answering a question he said that the Haqqani network remains a concern. "Taliban and Haqqani network continuing to work together, and oftentimes, it is difficult for us to distinguish exactly," he said adding that no matter what the group the solution comes down to the peace process, which is to join and seek a political settlement.