Kabul/ Islamabad — In a quiet but strategic move, the Afghan Taliban have relocated dozens of families linked to the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from Afghanistan’s eastern Kunar province to the southern provinces of Ghazni and Zabul, according to local sources and regional intelligence inputs.

The relocation, which began roughly a month ago, involved families originally hailing from Pakistan’s Bajaur and Mohmand tribal districts. These families were previously settled in Kunar’s sensitive border districts including Marawara, Manogi, Sarkano, and Dangam, where TTP militants have maintained an active presence over the past years.

According to officials familiar with the development, the transfers were carried out in coordination with the TTP leadership, with families moved under tight security in special military vehicles operated by the Afghan Taliban forces. In Khas Kunar district alone, around 25 TTP-linked families residing in Wali and Shali villages were completely relocated to Ghazni and Zabul provinces.

However, not all families have been moved. The households of two high-ranking TTP officials, Mullah Haider, believed to be the group’s finance commander, and Qari Kamran, head of intelligence, still remain in Khas Kunar. Sources claim both commanders reportedly oversee collection of donations from the local population, and maintain operational networks in the region.

Previous Relocations Point to Pattern

This is not the first instance of the Afghan Taliban-facilitated relocations involving the TTP. In February 2024, the Afghan Taliban administration discreetly moved several dozen families associated with TTP militants from the Gulan camp in Khost province and adjacent areas including Ismailkhel and parts of Paktika to new refugee zones in Ghazni.

At the time, the Afghan Taliban had devised a support plan that included a monthly stipend of $40 per family member, along with logistical assistance such as transport and basic household provisions. However, inadequate facilities and lack of long-term sustainability led many families to quietly return to their former settlements near the border.

Disparities in Resettlement

A pattern has emerged in these transfers: while the families of low-ranking or ordinary TTP fighters have been settled in peripheral districts such as Qarabagh in Ghazni, the families of mid- to high-ranking commanders have reportedly found shelter in Kabul and other urban centers, where amenities and security are better.

The Taliban, according to sources, are offering to resettle TTP militants and their families in central and northern Afghan provinces such as Logar, Maidan Wardak, Kunduz, and Baghlan. However, the fighters, many of whom are ethnically Pashtun and hail from areas near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, have reportedly declined these offers due to the geographic and cultural distance from their native regions, which remain crucial to the group’s operational and familial networks.

Strategic and Security Implications

Security analysts believe the ongoing relocations point to an evolving Afghan Taliban strategy to manage the TTP’s footprint inside Afghanistan, especially in regions close to the Pakistani border. By moving the families of fighters to more interior provinces, the Taliban may be seeking to reduce international scrutiny and domestic tensions over cross-border militancy.

The Pakistani government has long accused the Afghan Taliban of providing safe haven to the TTP, a charge Kabul routinely denies. However, repeated attacks by the TTP in Pakistan, many of them traced back to sanctuaries across the border, continue to strain the uneasy relationship between Islamabad and Kabul.

As the Afghan Taliban government attempts to consolidate control across Afghanistan, its handling of foreign militant groups like the TTP remains a critical test of its promises to the international community, particularly its pledge not to allow Afghan soil to be used against neighboring countries.