Amrullah Saleh says TTP extortion is spreading in Peshawar
Amrullah Saleh, the former vice president in Afghanistan’s previous government, has said that businesses and commercial activity in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, especially in the city of Peshawar, are under pressure from both government taxation and extortion by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
In a post on the social media platform X, he wrote that traders in Peshawar may avoid paying government taxes, but in his view, they do not have the capacity or courage to delay payment of the extortion money and taxes set by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.
Saleh also said Islamabad’s strategy to contain and suppress Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has failed because, in his view, Pakistani officials have ignored the historical dimensions, social context and geopolitical complexity of the crisis in their planning.
These remarks come as field reports also point to the expanding influence of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the former tribal areas. According to these reports, over the past two years the group has used security vacuums and regional developments to increase its financial and operational influence in Peshawar and areas bordering Afghanistan.
The Pakistani government and army have previously accused the Taliban administration in Kabul of sheltering Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan commanders and of failing to control the border. The Taliban administration has rejected the accusation and described the TTP crisis as an internal issue in Pakistan.
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and one of Pakistan’s most important commercial cities, near the border with Afghanistan. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the former tribal areas have repeatedly witnessed attacks and activity by armed groups in recent years, particularly Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.
