The Taliban In Pakistan Are Getting Hit From Both Sides

Pakistani Taliban Hit By Surge Of Counter-Terror Operations -- The Guardian

Nine fighters killed by drone missiles in Afghanistan, as US hands over Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan leader to Islamabad

All summer Pakistan has missed no opportunity to complain that the leaders of one of the country’s deadliest militant groups have found safe haven across the border in the wilds of eastern Afghanistan. But with the election of a more amenable president in Kabul and a dramatic improvement in relations between Islamabad and Washington, the Pakistani Taliban fighters hiding inside Afghanistan have suddenly become vulnerable, as a surge of counter-terror operations take place on both sides of the border.

In the latest attack, nine members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were killed on Sunday by missiles fired by a US drone, according to the police chief of Kunar, an Afghan province bordering Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

On the same day it was revealed a top TTP commander captured by US troops last year had been secretly handed over to Pakistan.

Read more ....

Update #1: U.S. hands Pakistan senior militant detained in Afghanistan -- Reuters
Update #2: Suspected US drone strikes kill at least 13 in Pakistan, Afghanistan -- FOX News
Update #3: Afghans are ready but is Pakistan willing? -- Amrullah Saleh, Al Jazeera

My Comment: It is still too early to say that Afghanistan - Pakistan relations are improving .... in the past when there was an attempt to improve relations they only lasted a short time .... but it is a first step, and one that everyone can only hope will improve with time.

Update: It should be noted that while relations are improving, major differences still exist .... Pakistan-Afghan Border Trench Row Threatens Bid to Repair Ties (Bloomberg).