Afghan Taliban turning Quetta into safe haven: Report

The Pakistan government has been constantly denying reports of presence of Afghan Taliban in Quetta. However,The Express Tribune reported the presence of Taliban was becoming a major concern for people living in the adjoining areas who fear that US may carry out missile strikes.

Madrassas in Kharotabad are providing free accommodation to militants,who move freely,knowing that Kharotabad is a safe haven,the paper said. The area and madrassas are proving to be a big recruitment centres for the Taliban with six to eight new fighters being inducted for jihad in Afghanistan every month.

The new recruits are given brand new 75CC motorbikes to head for Jihad training centres and are given secret route maps of how to evade security checkpoints by taking circuitous roads to Qamar Din Karez town on the Pak-Afghan border via Kuchlak.

They are told to avoid travelling in groups — just two persons per motorbike — and also given Rs 5,000 each,in addition to sufficient money for fuel.

The paper said a majority of these boys join Taliban with their parent’s consent,while many others embark on this “holy mission” without the knowledge of their guardians. The splinter ‘Nazreyati group’ ideology faction of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI),led by Maulana Esmatullah,member of the National Assembly,is a motivating force for young students of Baluchistan,the report said. Esmatullah had offered prayers for Osama bin Laden in the National Assembly days after he was killed by the US military in Abbottabad.

The paper said the Afghan and local Taliban members wounded during missions in Afghanistan,reportedly receiving free medical treatment at five prominent private hospitals. The administration at these hospitals told The Express Tribune that an international NGO was funding their medical care.