Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan
Encyclopedia
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (the TTP) (Urdu
: ; Student Movement of Pakistan), alternatively referred to as the Pakistani Taliban, is an umbrella organization
of various Islamist militant groups based in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas
along the Afghan border
in Pakistan
. Most, but not all, Pakistani Taliban groups coalesce under the TTP. In December 2007 about 13 groups united under the leadership of Baitullah Mehsud
to form the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan. Among the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan's stated objectives are resistance against the Pakistani state, enforcement of their interpretation of sharia
and a plan to unite against NATO-led forces in Afghanistan.
The TTP is not directly affiliated with the original Afghan Taliban. In late 2008 and early 2009 Mullah Omar
, leader of the Afghan Taliban, asked the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan to stop attacks inside of Pakistan and instead support the war in Afghanistan. In February 2009 the three dominant Pakistani Taliban leaders agreed to put aside their differences to help counter a planned increase in American troops in Afghanistan and reaffirmed their allegiance to Mullah Omar and to Osama bin Laden
. Yet, the TTP has almost exclusively targeted elements of the Pakistani state. However, Qari Mehsud indicated in a video recorded in April 2010 the TTP would make cities in the United States a "main target" in response to U.S. drone attacks on TTP leaders
. The TTP claimed responsibility for the December 2009 suicide attack on CIA facilities in Camp Chapman
as well as the attempted bombing in Times Square in May 2010.
In 2009 Pakistan launched offensives to force the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan from its territory in South Waziristan
. The Pakistani military establishment
, as well as some political analysts in the country, have in the past raised suspicion and claims that the Tehrik-i-Taliban receive outright support from militant networks based in Afghanistan and even Afghan authorities, in the wake of numerous cross-border raids by insurgents from Afghanistan into Pakistan. The Government of Afghanistan, on its behalf however categorically denies accusations of sheltering TTP.
Many of the TTP's leaders are veterans of the fighting in Afghanistan and have supported the fight against the NATO-led ISAF
by providing soldiers, training, and logistics
. In 2004 various tribal groups, as explained above, that would later form the TTP, effectively established their authority in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas
(FATA) by concurrently engaging in military attacks and negotiating with Islamabad
. By this time, the militants had killed around 200 rival tribal elders in the region to consolidate control. Several Pakistani analysts also cite the inception of U.S. missile strikes in the FATA as a catalyzing factor in the rise of tribal militancy in the area. More specifically they single out an October 2006 strike
on a TNSM
-run madrassah in Bajaur
as a turning point.
In December 2007 the existence of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan was officially announced under the leadership of Baitullah Mehsud
.
On August 25, 2008, Pakistan banned the group, froze its bank accounts and assets, and barred it from media appearances. The government also announced that bounties
would be placed on prominent leaders of the TTP.
In late December 2008 and early January 2009 Mullah Omar
sent a delegation, led by former Guantanamo Bay detainee Mullah Abdullah Zakir, to persuade leading members of the TTP to put aside differences and aid the Afghan Taliban in combating the American presence in Afghanistan. Baitullah Mehsud
, Hafiz Gul Bahadur
, and Maulavi Nazir agreed in February and formed the Shura Ittehadul Mujahideen (SIM), also transliterated as Shura Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen and translated into English as the Council of United Mujahedeen. In a written statement circulated in a one-page Urdu-language pamphlet, the three affirmed that they would put aside differences to fight American-led forces and reasserted their allegiance to Mullah Omar and Osama bin Laden
. However, the SIM did not last very long and collapsed shortly after its announcement.
killed Baitullah Mehsud. The TTP soon held a shura
to appoint his successor. Government sources reported that fighting broke out during the shura between Hakimullah Mehsud
and Wali-ur-Rehman
. While Pakistani news channels reported that Hakimullah had been killed in the shooting, Interior Minister Rehman Malik
could not confirm his death. On August 18, Pakistani security officials announced the capture of Maulvi Omar
, chief spokesperson of the TTP. Omar, who had denied the death of Baitullah, retracted his previous statements and confirmed the leader's death in the missile strike. He also acknowledged turmoil among TTP leadership following the killing.
After Omar's capture, Maulana Faqir Mohammed
announced to the BBC
that he would assume temporary leadership of the TTP and that Muslim Khan
would serve as primary spokesperson. He also maintained that Baitullah had not been killed, but rather was in ill health. Faqir further elaborated that decisions over leadership of the umbrella group would only be made in consultation and consensus with other TTP leaders. "The congregation of Taliban leaders has 32 members and no important decision can be taken without their consultation," he told the BBC. He reported to the AFP
that both Hakimullah Mehsud and Wali-ur-Rehman had approved his appointment as temporary leader of the militant group. Neither militant had publicly confirmed Faqir's statement, and analysts cited by Dawn News
believed the assumption of leadership actually indicated a power struggle.
Two days later Faqir Mohammed retracted his claims of temporary leadership and said that Hakimullah Mehsud had been selected leader of the TTP. Faqir declared that the 42-member shura had also decided that Azam Tariq
would serve as the TTP's primary spokesperson, rather than Muslim Khan.
Under the leadership of Hakimullah, the TTP intensified its suicide campaign against the Pakistani state and against civilian (particularly Shia, Ahmedi and Sufi) targets.
(FTO) and identified Hakimullah Mehsud and Wali ur-Rehman as "specially designated global terrorists." The designation of the TTP as an FTO makes it a crime to provide support or to do business with the group and also allows the U.S. to freeze its any assets. The State Department also issued a $5 million reward for information on the two individuals' locations.
In January 2011 the British government began to move to classify the TTP as a banned terrorist organization under its Terrorism Act 2000
.
In July 2011 the Canadian government also added the TTP to its list of banned terrorist organizations.
In its original form, the TTP had Baitullah Mehsud as its amir, and he was followed in the leadership hierarchy by naib amir, or deputy, Hafiz Gul Bahadur
and then Faqir Mohammed
. The group contained members from all of FATA's seven tribal agencies as well as several districts of the North-West Frontier Province
(NWFP), including Swat, Bannu
, Tank
, Lakki Marwat
, Dera Ismail Khan
, Kohistan
, Buner
, and Malakand
. Some 2008 estimates placed the total number of operatives as 30–35,000, although it is difficult to judge the reliability of such estimates.
In the aftermath of Baitullah Mehsud's death, the organization demonstrated signs of turmoil among its leading militants. By the end of August 2009, leading members in the TTP had confirmed Hakimullah Mehsud as its second amir. Government and some Taliban sources told media that Hakimullah Meshud was killed in January 2010 by injuries sustained during a U.S. drone attack, and unconfirmed reports from Orakzai Agency stated that Malik Noor Jamal, alias Maulana Toofan, had assumed leadership of the TTP until the group determined how to proceed.
Reuters, citing a report from The Express Tribune
, indicated in July 2011 that Hakimullah Mehsud's grip on the TTP leadership was weakening after the defection of Fazal Saeed Haqqani, the Taliban leader in the Kurram region, from the umbrella militant group. Haqqani cited disagreements over attacks on civilians as reason for the split. The paper quoted an associate of Mehsud's as saying that "it looks as though he is just a figurehead now... He can hardly communicate with his commanders in other parts of the tribal areas ... he is in total isolation. Only a few people within the TTP know where he is."
Former
Pakistani Taliban but not allied to TTP
Former
Director of National Intelligence and United States Navy Admiral, Dennis C. Blair, told U.S. senators that the Pakistani state and army meanwhile draw clear distinctions among different militant groups. While there are links between the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban, they appear to be sufficiently distinct for the Pakistani military and ISI to treat them very differently. American officials said that the S Wing of the Pakistani ISI provided direct support to three major groups carrying out attacks in Afghanistan: the Afghan Taliban based in Quetta, Pakistan, commanded by Mullah Muhammad Omar
; the militant network run by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
; and a different group run by the guerrilla leader Jalaluddin Haqqani
, all considered a strategic asset by Pakistan in contrast to the TTP run by Hakimullah Mehsud, which has engaged the Pakistani army in combat.
interpretation of Islam and are both predominantly Pashtun
. The two groups are distinct, though linked, movements. An Afghan Taliban spokesman told The New York Times
: "We don’t like to be involved with them, as we have rejected all affiliation with Pakistani Taliban fighters ... We have sympathy for them as Muslims, but beside that, there is nothing else between us." Some regional experts state that the common name "Taliban" may be more misleading than illuminating. Gilles Dorronsoro, a scholar of South Asia
at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
believes that "[t]he fact that they have the same name causes all kinds of confusion." As the Pakistani Army began offensives against the Pakistani Taliban, many unfamiliar with the region mistakenly thought that the assault was against the Afghan Taliban of Mullah Omar.
Before the creation of the TTP some of their leaders and fighters were among the 10,000 Pakistani, Arab and Central Asian militants fighting as part of a 25,000 force in the War in Afghanistan (1996-2001) and the War in Afghanistan (2001-present) against the anti-Taliban United Islamic Front
and NATO forces. A 1998 U.S. State Department report stated that "20-40 percent of [regular] Taliban soldiers [were] Pakistani." After the fall of the Afghan Taliban in late 2001, most Pakistani militants including members of today's TTP fled home to Pakistan. Teamed up with those Pakistani militants in 2001 and 2002 Afghan Taliban also fled for Pakistan where they regrouped and maintain safe havens and training camps as recently as June 2010. A journalist embedded with Canadian troops in Kandahar Province
in the summer of 2006 indicated that "Pakistani Taliban were routinely captured" at the time. Captured fighters admitted to being recruited and trained in Pakistan. Members of the two groups easily cross back and forth across the border between the two countries
.
In 2007 Pakistani militants loyal to Baitullah Mehsud
created the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan and killed around 200 rival Pakistani leaders. They officially defined goals to establish their rule over Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas
subsequently engaging the Pakistani army in heavy combat operations. Intelligence analysts believe that the TTP's attacks on the Pakistani government, police and army strained relations between Pakistani Taliban loyal to Mehsud and the Afghan Taliban.
Although the TTP has claimed allegiance with the Afghan Taliban in the Afghan Taliban's insurgency in Afghanistan, the two groups have no direct affiliation. The TTP has almost exclusively targeted elements of the Pakistani state. The Afghan Taliban however have historically always relied on support by the Pakistani army in their campaign to control Afghanistan. Regular Pakistani army troops fought alongside the Afghan Taliban in the War in Afghanistan (1996-2001). Major leaders of the Afghan Taliban including Mullah Omar, Jalaluddin Haqqani
and Siraj Haqqani are believed to enjoy safe haven in Pakistan. In 2006 Jalaluddin Haqqani was called a 'Pakistani asset' by a senior official of Inter-Services Intelligence. Pakistan regards the Haqqani's as an important force for protecting its interests in Afghanistan and therefore have been unwilling to move against them.
Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar
asked the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan in late 2008 and early 2009 to stop attacks inside Pakistan, to change their focus as an organization and to fight the Afghan National Army
and ISAF
forces in Afghanistan
instead.
In July 2011 reports emerged that senior Pakistani Taliban leaders were operating from Afghanistan to launch attacks Pakistani border posts. According to the reports, Qari Zia-ur-Rahman hosted Faqir Muhammad in Kunar province
while Maulana Fazlullah was hosted in Nuristan province by Sheikh Dost Muhammad, a local Afghan Taliban leader. In a telephone conversation with The Express Tribune
, Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid rejected the reports: "We cannot host guests in the current situation... there is no safe place in our country." Faqir Muhammad claimed responsibility for a July 4, 2011 attack on a paramilitary checkpoint and for similar attacks in June 2011 on several border villages in Bajaur. During a radio broadcast he stated, "Our fighters carried out these two attacks from Afghanistan, and we will launch more such attacks inside Afghanistan and in Pakistan." Tameem Nuristani, Governor of Afghanistan's Nuristan Province, also indicated to The Express Tribune that the "Afghan Taliban have never carried out cross-border attacks in Pakistan," but conceded that TTP militants had "safe-havens" in Kunar and Nuristan "Like Waziristan, we, too, have areas where the government’s writ does not exist," he said.
, President Obama’s chief counterterrorism adviser, said: "It's a group that is closely allied with al-Qaeda. They train together, they plan together, they plot together. They are almost indistinguishable." Ambassador-at-large Daniel Benjamin
stated, "The T.T.P. and Al Qaeda have a symbiotic relationship: T.T.P. draws ideological guidance from Al Qaeda, while Al Qaeda relies on the T.T.P. for safe haven in the Pashtun areas along the Afghan-Pakistani border... This mutual cooperation gives T.T.P. access to both Al Qaeda’s global terrorist network and the operational experience of its members. Given the proximity of the two groups and the nature of their relationship, T.T.P. is a force multiplier for Al Qaeda." Ayesha Siddiqa of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
describes the TTP as "a franchise of al Qaeda" and attributes strong ties to al-Qaeda's acquisition of "a more local character over the years." Since the days of the Soviet era, some al-Qaeda operatives have established themselves in Pashtun areas and enmeshed themselves in the local culture.
In 2008 Baitullah Mehsud met with Ayman al-Zawahiri
in South Waziristan. Prior to this meeting the Pakistani Taliban answered to the Afghan Taliban and pro-Pakistan militant commanders. At the time Pakistani authorities believed that Mehsud was in fact an al-Qaeda operative. In February 2009 Baitullah Mehsud, Hafiz Gul Bahadur and Maulavi Nazir released a statement in which they reaffirmed their allegiance to Osama bin Laden.
(IMU) have a long history of collaboration. At one point prior to his appointment as TTP chief, Baitullah Mehsud lived with Tohir Yo'ldosh, the IMU's former leader, who became an ideological inspiration and offered the services of his 2,500 fighters to Mehsud. In April 2009 Muslim Khan listed the IMU among the TTP's allies in an interview with AP. The IMU posted a video online in September 2010 that featured footage of Yo'ldosh's successor, Abu Usman Adil, meeting with Hakimullah Mehsud and Wali-ur Rahman Mehsud.
, the southernmost region of Pakistan's most populous Punjab province. Major factions of the so-called Punjabi Taliban include operatives of Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan and Jaysh-i-Muhammad, who have previously been involved in the Kashmir insurgency with India
in Indian-administered Kashmir, a territory claimed and disputed by Pakistan. TTP has significant recruits from Punjab based sectarian organizations also called Punjabi Taliban. The Punjabi Taliban has also developed strong connections with the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, the Afghan
Taliban, Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi
and various other groups based in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas
(FATA). It has increasingly provided the foot-soldiers for violent acts and has played an important role in attacking Ahmedi, Shia, Sufi and other civilian targets in the Punjab.
The term "Punjabi Taliban" is politically sensitive among Pakistanis, given that Punjabis are the largest ethnic group in the country and have historically been disassociated with the Taliban, an organisation that has Afghan and Pashtun roots. Although claimed and believed to be an established militant group, the Government of Punjab has denied and rejected their existence. Shahbaz Sharif
, the Punjab Chief Minister
, has claimed that the term Punjabi Taliban is "an insult to the Punjabis
" and accuses that it was coined by Rehman Malik
purposely on ethnic grounds. During a March 17, 2010 cabinet meeting Malik confirmed that Punjabi militants had joined Waziristan-based Taliban to stage attacks inside Punjab. Georgetown University
's C. Christine Fair
writes that "the movement is composed of Pashtuns and Punjabis, among other Pakistani and even foreign elements."
The Lahore police accused them as responsible for the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team
which took place in Lahore
on 3 March 2009
The group also claimed the 2009 Lahore bombing
shortly after the attack, though the attack was also claimed by Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan.; and the May 2010 attacks on Ahmadi mosques in Lahore
which were aimed at the Ahmadis minority sect.
Pamphlets found at the scene of the March 2011 assassination of Shahbaz Bhatti
implicated the Punjabi Taliban. The US drone attack which targeted Ilyas Kashmiri
in June 2011 also allegedly killed some members of the Punjabi Taliban.
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
: ; Student Movement of Pakistan), alternatively referred to as the Pakistani Taliban, is an umbrella organization
Umbrella organization
An umbrella organization is an association of institutions, who work together formally to coordinate activities or pool resources. In business, political, or other environments, one group, the umbrella organization, provides resources and often an identity to the smaller organizations...
of various Islamist militant groups based in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas
Federally Administered Tribal Areas
The Federally Administered Tribal Areas are a semi-autonomous tribal region in the northwest of Pakistan, lying between the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and the neighboring country of Afghanistan. The FATA comprise seven Agencies and six FRs...
along the Afghan border
Durand Line
The Durand Line refers to the porous international border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which has divided the ethnic Pashtuns . This poorly marked line is approximately long...
in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. Most, but not all, Pakistani Taliban groups coalesce under the TTP. In December 2007 about 13 groups united under the leadership of Baitullah Mehsud
Baitullah Mehsud
Baitullah Mehsud was a leading militant in Waziristan, Pakistan, and the leader of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan . He formed the TTP from an alliance of about five militant groups in December 2007. He is thought by U.S...
to form the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan. Among the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan's stated objectives are resistance against the Pakistani state, enforcement of their interpretation of sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
and a plan to unite against NATO-led forces in Afghanistan.
The TTP is not directly affiliated with the original Afghan Taliban. In late 2008 and early 2009 Mullah Omar
Mohammed Omar
Mullah Mohammed Omar , often simply called Mullah Omar, is the leader of the Taliban movement that operates in Afghanistan. He was Afghanistan's de facto head of state from 1996 to late 2001, under the official title "Head of the Supreme Council"...
, leader of the Afghan Taliban, asked the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan to stop attacks inside of Pakistan and instead support the war in Afghanistan. In February 2009 the three dominant Pakistani Taliban leaders agreed to put aside their differences to help counter a planned increase in American troops in Afghanistan and reaffirmed their allegiance to Mullah Omar and to Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
. Yet, the TTP has almost exclusively targeted elements of the Pakistani state. However, Qari Mehsud indicated in a video recorded in April 2010 the TTP would make cities in the United States a "main target" in response to U.S. drone attacks on TTP leaders
Drone attacks in Pakistan
The United States government, led by the Central Intelligence Agency's Special Activities Division, has made a series of attacks on targets in northwest Pakistan since 2004 using drones . These attacks are part of the US' War on Terrorism campaign, seeking to defeat Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants...
. The TTP claimed responsibility for the December 2009 suicide attack on CIA facilities in Camp Chapman
Camp Chapman attack
The Camp Chapman attack was a suicide attack against Forward Operating Base Chapman, a key facility of the Central Intelligence Agency in Afghanistan, on December 30, 2009. The base is located near the eastern Afghan city of Khost, in a stronghold of the Taliban movement...
as well as the attempted bombing in Times Square in May 2010.
In 2009 Pakistan launched offensives to force the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan from its territory in South Waziristan
South Waziristan
South Waziristan is the southern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering some 11,585 km² . Waziristan comprises the area west and southwest of Peshawar between the Tochi River to the north and the Gomal River to the south, forming...
. The Pakistani military establishment
Establishment (Pakistan)
The Establishment is a term used commonly by Pakistani political scientists and also by political scholars and analysts around the world for the powerful military-dominant oligarchy in Pakistan...
, as well as some political analysts in the country, have in the past raised suspicion and claims that the Tehrik-i-Taliban receive outright support from militant networks based in Afghanistan and even Afghan authorities, in the wake of numerous cross-border raids by insurgents from Afghanistan into Pakistan. The Government of Afghanistan, on its behalf however categorically denies accusations of sheltering TTP.
Roots and development
The roots of the TTP as an organization began in 2002 when the Pakistani military conducted incursions into the tribal areas to originally combat foreign (Arab and Central Asian) militants fleeing from the War in Afghanistan (2001-present) into Pakistan. A 2004 article by the BBC explains:The latest military offensive in which air force bombers and gunship helicopters pounded an alleged training camp of suspected al-Qaeda militants, has resulted in heavy casualties. And it has taken the conflict to an area [South Waziristan] that until now had remained relatively peaceful. ... The military offensive had been part of the overall war against al-Qaeda. ... Since the start of the operation, the [Pakistani] military authorities have firmly established that a large number of Uzbek, Chechen and Arab militants were in the area. ... It was in July 2002 that Pakistani troops, for the first time in 55 years, entered the Tirah Valley in Khyber tribal agency. Soon they were in Shawal valley of North Waziristan, and later in South Waziristan. ... This was made possible after long negotiations with various tribes, who reluctantly agreed to allow the military's presence on the assurance that it would bring in funds and development work. But once the military action started in South Waziristan a number of Waziri sub-tribes took it as an attempt to subjugate them. Attempts to persuade them into handing over the foreign militants failed, and with an apparently mishandling by the authorities, the security campaign against suspected al-Qaeda militants turned into an undeclared war between the Pakistani military and the rebel tribesmen.
Many of the TTP's leaders are veterans of the fighting in Afghanistan and have supported the fight against the NATO-led ISAF
ISAF
ISAF may refer to:* International Sailing Federation, the world governing body for Olympic and other competitive sailing.* International Security Assistance Force, the NATO-led security mission operating in Afghanistan since 2001....
by providing soldiers, training, and logistics
Military logistics
Military logistics is the discipline of planning and carrying out the movement and maintenance of military forces. In its most comprehensive sense, it is those aspects or military operations that deal with:...
. In 2004 various tribal groups, as explained above, that would later form the TTP, effectively established their authority in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas
Federally Administered Tribal Areas
The Federally Administered Tribal Areas are a semi-autonomous tribal region in the northwest of Pakistan, lying between the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and the neighboring country of Afghanistan. The FATA comprise seven Agencies and six FRs...
(FATA) by concurrently engaging in military attacks and negotiating with Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
. By this time, the militants had killed around 200 rival tribal elders in the region to consolidate control. Several Pakistani analysts also cite the inception of U.S. missile strikes in the FATA as a catalyzing factor in the rise of tribal militancy in the area. More specifically they single out an October 2006 strike
Chenagai airstrike
The Chenagai airstrike took place on October 30, 2006, around 5:00 am. local time. Missiles were fired at a madrassa in Chenagai village in Bajaur region of Pakistan. An eyewitness has stated that the madrassa was filled with local students who had resumed studies after the Eid ul-Fitr holiday. 82...
on a TNSM
Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi
Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi is a Pakistani militant group whose objective is to enforce Sharia law in the country. The rebel group took over much of Swat in 2007...
-run madrassah in Bajaur
Bajaur
Bajaur or Bajur or Bajour is an Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Smallest of the agencies in FATA, it has a hilly terrain. According to the 1998 census, the population was 595,227 but other more recent estimates it has grown to 757,000...
as a turning point.
In December 2007 the existence of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan was officially announced under the leadership of Baitullah Mehsud
Baitullah Mehsud
Baitullah Mehsud was a leading militant in Waziristan, Pakistan, and the leader of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan . He formed the TTP from an alliance of about five militant groups in December 2007. He is thought by U.S...
.
On August 25, 2008, Pakistan banned the group, froze its bank accounts and assets, and barred it from media appearances. The government also announced that bounties
Bounty (reward)
A bounty is a payment or reward often offered by a group as an incentive for the accomplishment of a task by someone usually not associated with the group. Bounties are most commonly issued for the capture or retrieval of a person or object. They are typically in the form of money...
would be placed on prominent leaders of the TTP.
In late December 2008 and early January 2009 Mullah Omar
Mohammed Omar
Mullah Mohammed Omar , often simply called Mullah Omar, is the leader of the Taliban movement that operates in Afghanistan. He was Afghanistan's de facto head of state from 1996 to late 2001, under the official title "Head of the Supreme Council"...
sent a delegation, led by former Guantanamo Bay detainee Mullah Abdullah Zakir, to persuade leading members of the TTP to put aside differences and aid the Afghan Taliban in combating the American presence in Afghanistan. Baitullah Mehsud
Baitullah Mehsud
Baitullah Mehsud was a leading militant in Waziristan, Pakistan, and the leader of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan . He formed the TTP from an alliance of about five militant groups in December 2007. He is thought by U.S...
, Hafiz Gul Bahadur
Hafiz Gul Bahadur
Hafiz Gul Bahadur is the leader of a Pakistani Taliban faction based in North Waziristan. Upon the formation of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan in December 2007, he was announced as the militant group's overall naib amir under Baitullah Mehsud, who was based in South Waziristan, but has largely...
, and Maulavi Nazir agreed in February and formed the Shura Ittehadul Mujahideen (SIM), also transliterated as Shura Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen and translated into English as the Council of United Mujahedeen. In a written statement circulated in a one-page Urdu-language pamphlet, the three affirmed that they would put aside differences to fight American-led forces and reasserted their allegiance to Mullah Omar and Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
. However, the SIM did not last very long and collapsed shortly after its announcement.
Leadership crisis
In August 2009 a missile strike from a suspected U.S. droneUnmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...
killed Baitullah Mehsud. The TTP soon held a shura
Shura
Shura is an Arabic word for "consultation". The Quran and Muhammad encourage Muslims to decide their affairs in consultation with those who will be affected by that decision....
to appoint his successor. Government sources reported that fighting broke out during the shura between Hakimullah Mehsud
Hakimullah Mehsud
Hakimullah Mehsud , born c. 1979 as Jamshed Mehsud and also known as Zulfiqar Mehsud , is the amir of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan...
and Wali-ur-Rehman
Wali-ur-Rehman
Wali-ur-Rehman is a citizen of Pakistan, and a senior Taliban commander based in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas...
. While Pakistani news channels reported that Hakimullah had been killed in the shooting, Interior Minister Rehman Malik
Rehman Malik
27 April 2009 He has been the interior adviser since 27 March 2008.Senator A. Rehman Malik is a Pakistani politician, member of the Senate of Pakistan, and the current Interior Minister of Pakistan under the Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani administration. His Second name is Shetan Malik and he...
could not confirm his death. On August 18, Pakistani security officials announced the capture of Maulvi Omar
Maulvi Omar
Maulvi Said Muhammad, better known as Maulvi Omar or Maulvi Umar, is a senior Taliban commander who was captured by the Pakistani security forces in August 2009. Omar, a spokesman for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan , was a close associate of Baitullah Mehsud...
, chief spokesperson of the TTP. Omar, who had denied the death of Baitullah, retracted his previous statements and confirmed the leader's death in the missile strike. He also acknowledged turmoil among TTP leadership following the killing.
After Omar's capture, Maulana Faqir Mohammed
Faqir Mohammed
Faqir Mohammed is a member of the Mohmand tribe and a deputy leader of the Pakistani Taliban umbrella group Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan. He was born in Chopatra, in Bajaur Agency, Pakistan. He was reported as killed on March 5, 2010 during a helicopter gunship attack on militants by the Pakistani...
announced to the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
that he would assume temporary leadership of the TTP and that Muslim Khan
Muslim Khan
Muslim Khan was a spokesman for the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan of Swat. He was born in Kabal Tehsil of Swat.In an interview with New England Foundation for the Arts, when asked about his usage of American-styled English and pronunciation, he revealed that he had lived for some time in Boston...
would serve as primary spokesperson. He also maintained that Baitullah had not been killed, but rather was in ill health. Faqir further elaborated that decisions over leadership of the umbrella group would only be made in consultation and consensus with other TTP leaders. "The congregation of Taliban leaders has 32 members and no important decision can be taken without their consultation," he told the BBC. He reported to the AFP
Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse is a French news agency, the oldest one in the world, and one of the three largest with Associated Press and Reuters. It is also the largest French news agency. Currently, its CEO is Emmanuel Hoog and its news director Philippe Massonnet...
that both Hakimullah Mehsud and Wali-ur-Rehman had approved his appointment as temporary leader of the militant group. Neither militant had publicly confirmed Faqir's statement, and analysts cited by Dawn News
Dawn News
Dawn News was Pakistan's 24-hour Urdu news channel. Based in Karachi, the station is a subsidiary of Pakistan Herald Publications Limited , Pakistan's largest English-language media group. The test transmission of the station occurred on May 25, 2007, and the channel went live on July 23, 2007...
believed the assumption of leadership actually indicated a power struggle.
Two days later Faqir Mohammed retracted his claims of temporary leadership and said that Hakimullah Mehsud had been selected leader of the TTP. Faqir declared that the 42-member shura had also decided that Azam Tariq
Azam Tariq (Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan)
Azam Tariq is a spokesperson for the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan . The TTP chose him as its spokesman after his predecessor, Maulvi Umar, was detained by Pakistani authorities in August 2009....
would serve as the TTP's primary spokesperson, rather than Muslim Khan.
Under the leadership of Hakimullah, the TTP intensified its suicide campaign against the Pakistani state and against civilian (particularly Shia, Ahmedi and Sufi) targets.
Designation as a Terrorist Organization
On September 1, 2010 the United States designated the TTP as a Foreign Terrorist OrganizationU.S. State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations
"Foreign Terrorist Organization" is a designation of non-United States-based organizations declared terrorist by the United States Secretary of State in accordance with section 219 of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act...
(FTO) and identified Hakimullah Mehsud and Wali ur-Rehman as "specially designated global terrorists." The designation of the TTP as an FTO makes it a crime to provide support or to do business with the group and also allows the U.S. to freeze its any assets. The State Department also issued a $5 million reward for information on the two individuals' locations.
In January 2011 the British government began to move to classify the TTP as a banned terrorist organization under its Terrorism Act 2000
Terrorism Act 2000
The Terrorism Act 2000 is the first of a number of general Terrorism Acts passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It superseded and repealed the Prevention of Terrorism Act 1989 and the Northern Ireland Act 1996...
.
In July 2011 the Canadian government also added the TTP to its list of banned terrorist organizations.
Overview
The TTP differs in structure to the Afghan Taliban in that it lacks a central command and is a much looser coalition of various militant groups, united by hostility to the central government in Islamabad. Several analysts describe the TTP's structure as a loose network of dispersed constituent groups that vary in size and in levels of coordination. The various factions of the TTP tend to be limited to their local areas of influence and often lack the ability to expand their operations beyond that territory.In its original form, the TTP had Baitullah Mehsud as its amir, and he was followed in the leadership hierarchy by naib amir, or deputy, Hafiz Gul Bahadur
Hafiz Gul Bahadur
Hafiz Gul Bahadur is the leader of a Pakistani Taliban faction based in North Waziristan. Upon the formation of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan in December 2007, he was announced as the militant group's overall naib amir under Baitullah Mehsud, who was based in South Waziristan, but has largely...
and then Faqir Mohammed
Faqir Mohammed
Faqir Mohammed is a member of the Mohmand tribe and a deputy leader of the Pakistani Taliban umbrella group Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan. He was born in Chopatra, in Bajaur Agency, Pakistan. He was reported as killed on March 5, 2010 during a helicopter gunship attack on militants by the Pakistani...
. The group contained members from all of FATA's seven tribal agencies as well as several districts of the North-West Frontier Province
North-West Frontier Province
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province and various other names, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan, located in the north-west of the country...
(NWFP), including Swat, Bannu
Bannu
Bannu is the principal city of the Bannu District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan. It is an important road junction and market city. Bannu is a very old city, founded in ancient times; however, the present location of the downtown Bannu was founded by Sir Herbert Edwardes in 1848,...
, Tank
Tank District
Tank , is the southern district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, the city of Tank is the capital of the district, which consists Union Council City I and Union Council City II. There are totally sixteen Union councils of district Tank. Tank was formerly part of district Dera Ismail...
, Lakki Marwat
Lakki Marwat District
Lakki Marwat is one of the Southern Districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan. It was created as an administrative district on July 1, 1992, prior to which it was a Tehsil of Bannu District.-Etymology:...
, Dera Ismail Khan
Dera Ismail Khan District
Dera Ismail Khan is one of the 24 districts in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The capital of the district is the town of Dera Ismail Khan...
, Kohistan
Kohistan District (Pakistan)
Kohistan has two distinct meanings in Pakistan. In Persian "koh" means "peak" and "istaan" means "land of". In its usual modern sense Kohistan District is an administrative district within Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province covering an area of 7,492 sq.kilometres; it had a population of...
, Buner
Buner District
Buner District is a district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.- History :The Buner Valley lies on the Peshawar valley border of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is a small mountain valley, dotted with villages and divided into seven sub-divisions...
, and Malakand
Malakand District
Malakand District is a district of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan.The District was formed in 1970 as a Provincially Administered Tribal Area, It had previously been a Tribal Area known as the Malakand Protected Area, part of the Malakand Agency...
. Some 2008 estimates placed the total number of operatives as 30–35,000, although it is difficult to judge the reliability of such estimates.
In the aftermath of Baitullah Mehsud's death, the organization demonstrated signs of turmoil among its leading militants. By the end of August 2009, leading members in the TTP had confirmed Hakimullah Mehsud as its second amir. Government and some Taliban sources told media that Hakimullah Meshud was killed in January 2010 by injuries sustained during a U.S. drone attack, and unconfirmed reports from Orakzai Agency stated that Malik Noor Jamal, alias Maulana Toofan, had assumed leadership of the TTP until the group determined how to proceed.
Reuters, citing a report from The Express Tribune
The Express Tribune
The Express Tribune is the first internationally affiliated newspaper in Pakistan, in partnership with The International Herald Tribune, the global edition of The New York Times....
, indicated in July 2011 that Hakimullah Mehsud's grip on the TTP leadership was weakening after the defection of Fazal Saeed Haqqani, the Taliban leader in the Kurram region, from the umbrella militant group. Haqqani cited disagreements over attacks on civilians as reason for the split. The paper quoted an associate of Mehsud's as saying that "it looks as though he is just a figurehead now... He can hardly communicate with his commanders in other parts of the tribal areas ... he is in total isolation. Only a few people within the TTP know where he is."
Leaders
Current- Hakimullah MehsudHakimullah MehsudHakimullah Mehsud , born c. 1979 as Jamshed Mehsud and also known as Zulfiqar Mehsud , is the amir of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan...
– second amir of TTP and former commander in the KhyberKhyber agencyKhyber is a tribal area in the FATA region of Pakistan. It is one of the eight tribal areas, better known as agencies in Pakistan. It ranges from the Tirah valley down to Peshawar...
, Kurram, and OrakzaiOrakzai AgencyOrakzai Agency is one of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. It has a population of 450,000 and an area of .- History :The Orakzai tribes take their name, which literally means the lost son , from a romantic legend about their ancestor, Sikandar Shah, who was a prince from Iran,...
agencies – South WaziristanSouth WaziristanSouth Waziristan is the southern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering some 11,585 km² . Waziristan comprises the area west and southwest of Peshawar between the Tochi River to the north and the Gomal River to the south, forming... - Omar Khalid – Mohmand AgencyMohmand AgencyThe Mohmand Agency is a district in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan created in 1951. Before that, the Mohmand Tribes were administered by the Deputy Commissioner based in Peshawar, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. However it was not until 1973 that the headquarters of...
- Waliur Rehman Mehsud – South Waziristan
- Faqir MohammedFaqir MohammedFaqir Mohammed is a member of the Mohmand tribe and a deputy leader of the Pakistani Taliban umbrella group Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan. He was born in Chopatra, in Bajaur Agency, Pakistan. He was reported as killed on March 5, 2010 during a helicopter gunship attack on militants by the Pakistani...
– BajaurBajaurBajaur or Bajur or Bajour is an Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Smallest of the agencies in FATA, it has a hilly terrain. According to the 1998 census, the population was 595,227 but other more recent estimates it has grown to 757,000... - Wali Muhammad - Appointed head of TTP in Wana and son of Nek Muhammad
- Maulana FazlullahMaulana FazlullahMaulana Fazlullah, nicknamed the "Radio Mullah" or "Mullah Radio", is the leader of Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi , a banned Pakistani Islamic fundamentalist militant group allied to the Pakistani Taliban, that aims to enforce Sharia in the country...
, "The Radio Mullah" – Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-MohammadiTehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-MohammadiTehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi is a Pakistani militant group whose objective is to enforce Sharia law in the country. The rebel group took over much of Swat in 2007...
(based in Swat, Pakistan)
Former
- Baitullah MehsudBaitullah MehsudBaitullah Mehsud was a leading militant in Waziristan, Pakistan, and the leader of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan . He formed the TTP from an alliance of about five militant groups in December 2007. He is thought by U.S...
– South WaziristanSouth WaziristanSouth Waziristan is the southern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering some 11,585 km² . Waziristan comprises the area west and southwest of Peshawar between the Tochi River to the north and the Gomal River to the south, forming...
– first leader of TTP – deceased August 2009 - Qari HussainQari HussainQari Hussain Ahmad Mehsud was a top lieutenant in the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan and the organizer of the group's suicide bombing squads. He was a cousin of Hakimullah Mehsud.- Operations :...
– Lieutenant to Baitullah Mehsud - deceased October 7, 2010 - Qari Zainuddin Mehsud – South Waziristan (Tank) – deceased June 23, 2009
- Maulvi Muhammad Iftikhar- One the six most senior Pakistan Taliban leaders and former Red Mosque leader - deceased October 14, 2011
Pakistani Taliban but not allied to TTP
- Hafiz Gul BahadurHafiz Gul BahadurHafiz Gul Bahadur is the leader of a Pakistani Taliban faction based in North Waziristan. Upon the formation of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan in December 2007, he was announced as the militant group's overall naib amir under Baitullah Mehsud, who was based in South Waziristan, but has largely...
– North WaziristanNorth WaziristanNorth Waziristan is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . Waziristan comprises the area west and south-west of Peshawar between the Tochi river to the north and the Gomal river to the south, forming part of Pakistan's...
- Although originally credited as the TTP's amir in North Waziristan, Gul Bahadur has more recently been described as "pro-Pakistan" and opposed to Hakimullah. He exclusively focuses on NATO forces in Afghanistan. - Maulavi Nazir – South Waziristan (eastern half)
Spokesmen
Current- Azam TariqAzam Tariq (Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan)Azam Tariq is a spokesperson for the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan . The TTP chose him as its spokesman after his predecessor, Maulvi Umar, was detained by Pakistani authorities in August 2009....
- Muhammad Suleman - Spokesperson for Wana TTP.
- Ehsanullah Ehsan (sometimes spelled Ahsanullah Ahsan)
Former
- Maulvi OmarMaulvi OmarMaulvi Said Muhammad, better known as Maulvi Omar or Maulvi Umar, is a senior Taliban commander who was captured by the Pakistani security forces in August 2009. Omar, a spokesman for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan , was a close associate of Baitullah Mehsud...
– close aide to Baitullah Mehsud – arrested August 18, 2009 - Muslim KhanMuslim KhanMuslim Khan was a spokesman for the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan of Swat. He was born in Kabal Tehsil of Swat.In an interview with New England Foundation for the Arts, when asked about his usage of American-styled English and pronunciation, he revealed that he had lived for some time in Boston...
– arrested September 11, 2009
Relations with other militant groups
In a May 2010 interview, U.S. Gen. David Petraeus described the TTP's relationship with other militant groups as difficult to decipher: "There is clearly a symbiotic relationship between all of these different organizations: al-Qaeda, the Pakistani Taliban, the Afghan Taliban, TNSM [Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi]. And it's very difficult to parse and to try to distinguish between them. They support each other, they coordinate with each other, sometimes they compete with each other, [and] sometimes they even fight each other. But at the end of the day, there is quite a relationship between them."Director of National Intelligence and United States Navy Admiral, Dennis C. Blair, told U.S. senators that the Pakistani state and army meanwhile draw clear distinctions among different militant groups. While there are links between the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban, they appear to be sufficiently distinct for the Pakistani military and ISI to treat them very differently. American officials said that the S Wing of the Pakistani ISI provided direct support to three major groups carrying out attacks in Afghanistan: the Afghan Taliban based in Quetta, Pakistan, commanded by Mullah Muhammad Omar
Mohammed Omar
Mullah Mohammed Omar , often simply called Mullah Omar, is the leader of the Taliban movement that operates in Afghanistan. He was Afghanistan's de facto head of state from 1996 to late 2001, under the official title "Head of the Supreme Council"...
; the militant network run by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar is an Afghan Mujahideen leader who is the founder and leader of the Hezb-e Islami political party and paramilitary group. Hekmatyar was a rebel military commander during the 1980s Soviet war in Afghanistan and was one of the key figures in the civil war that followed the...
; and a different group run by the guerrilla leader Jalaluddin Haqqani
Jalaluddin Haqqani
Mawlawi Jalaluddin Haqqani is the leader of the Haqqani network, an insurgent group fighting against US-led NATO forces and the government of Afghanistan. He also fought in the 1980s Soviet war in Afghanistan, including in the Operation Magistral...
, all considered a strategic asset by Pakistan in contrast to the TTP run by Hakimullah Mehsud, which has engaged the Pakistani army in combat.
Afghan Taliban
The Afghan Taliban and the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan differ greatly in their history, leadership and goals although they share a primarily DeobandiDeobandi
Deobandi is a movement of Sunni Islam. The movement began at Darul Uloom Deoband in Deoband, India, where its foundation was laid on 30 May 1866.-History:...
interpretation of Islam and are both predominantly Pashtun
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...
. The two groups are distinct, though linked, movements. An Afghan Taliban spokesman told The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
: "We don’t like to be involved with them, as we have rejected all affiliation with Pakistani Taliban fighters ... We have sympathy for them as Muslims, but beside that, there is nothing else between us." Some regional experts state that the common name "Taliban" may be more misleading than illuminating. Gilles Dorronsoro, a scholar of South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is a foreign-policy think tank based in Washington, D.C. The organization describes itself as being dedicated to advancing cooperation between nations and promoting active international engagement by the United States...
believes that "[t]he fact that they have the same name causes all kinds of confusion." As the Pakistani Army began offensives against the Pakistani Taliban, many unfamiliar with the region mistakenly thought that the assault was against the Afghan Taliban of Mullah Omar.
Before the creation of the TTP some of their leaders and fighters were among the 10,000 Pakistani, Arab and Central Asian militants fighting as part of a 25,000 force in the War in Afghanistan (1996-2001) and the War in Afghanistan (2001-present) against the anti-Taliban United Islamic Front
United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan
The United Islamic Front , known in the West and Pakistan as the Northern Alliance, was a military-political umbrella organization created by the Islamic State of Afghanistan in 1996 under the leadership of Defense Minister Ahmad Shah Massoud...
and NATO forces. A 1998 U.S. State Department report stated that "20-40 percent of [regular] Taliban soldiers [were] Pakistani." After the fall of the Afghan Taliban in late 2001, most Pakistani militants including members of today's TTP fled home to Pakistan. Teamed up with those Pakistani militants in 2001 and 2002 Afghan Taliban also fled for Pakistan where they regrouped and maintain safe havens and training camps as recently as June 2010. A journalist embedded with Canadian troops in Kandahar Province
Kandahar Province
Kandahar or Qandahar is one of the largest of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is located in southern Afghanistan, between Helmand, Oruzgan and Zabul provinces. Its capital is the city of Kandahar, which is located on the Arghandab River. The province has a population of nearly...
in the summer of 2006 indicated that "Pakistani Taliban were routinely captured" at the time. Captured fighters admitted to being recruited and trained in Pakistan. Members of the two groups easily cross back and forth across the border between the two countries
Durand Line
The Durand Line refers to the porous international border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which has divided the ethnic Pashtuns . This poorly marked line is approximately long...
.
In 2007 Pakistani militants loyal to Baitullah Mehsud
Baitullah Mehsud
Baitullah Mehsud was a leading militant in Waziristan, Pakistan, and the leader of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan . He formed the TTP from an alliance of about five militant groups in December 2007. He is thought by U.S...
created the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan and killed around 200 rival Pakistani leaders. They officially defined goals to establish their rule over Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas
Federally Administered Tribal Areas
The Federally Administered Tribal Areas are a semi-autonomous tribal region in the northwest of Pakistan, lying between the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and the neighboring country of Afghanistan. The FATA comprise seven Agencies and six FRs...
subsequently engaging the Pakistani army in heavy combat operations. Intelligence analysts believe that the TTP's attacks on the Pakistani government, police and army strained relations between Pakistani Taliban loyal to Mehsud and the Afghan Taliban.
Although the TTP has claimed allegiance with the Afghan Taliban in the Afghan Taliban's insurgency in Afghanistan, the two groups have no direct affiliation. The TTP has almost exclusively targeted elements of the Pakistani state. The Afghan Taliban however have historically always relied on support by the Pakistani army in their campaign to control Afghanistan. Regular Pakistani army troops fought alongside the Afghan Taliban in the War in Afghanistan (1996-2001). Major leaders of the Afghan Taliban including Mullah Omar, Jalaluddin Haqqani
Jalaluddin Haqqani
Mawlawi Jalaluddin Haqqani is the leader of the Haqqani network, an insurgent group fighting against US-led NATO forces and the government of Afghanistan. He also fought in the 1980s Soviet war in Afghanistan, including in the Operation Magistral...
and Siraj Haqqani are believed to enjoy safe haven in Pakistan. In 2006 Jalaluddin Haqqani was called a 'Pakistani asset' by a senior official of Inter-Services Intelligence. Pakistan regards the Haqqani's as an important force for protecting its interests in Afghanistan and therefore have been unwilling to move against them.
Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar
Mohammed Omar
Mullah Mohammed Omar , often simply called Mullah Omar, is the leader of the Taliban movement that operates in Afghanistan. He was Afghanistan's de facto head of state from 1996 to late 2001, under the official title "Head of the Supreme Council"...
asked the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan in late 2008 and early 2009 to stop attacks inside Pakistan, to change their focus as an organization and to fight the Afghan National Army
Afghan National Army
The Afghan National Army is a service branch of the military of Afghanistan, which is currently trained by the coalition forces to ultimately take the role in land-based military operations in Afghanistan. , the Afghan National Army is divided into seven regional Corps. The strength of the Afghan...
and ISAF
ISAF
ISAF may refer to:* International Sailing Federation, the world governing body for Olympic and other competitive sailing.* International Security Assistance Force, the NATO-led security mission operating in Afghanistan since 2001....
forces in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
instead.
In July 2011 reports emerged that senior Pakistani Taliban leaders were operating from Afghanistan to launch attacks Pakistani border posts. According to the reports, Qari Zia-ur-Rahman hosted Faqir Muhammad in Kunar province
Kunar Province
Kunar is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeastern part of the country. Its capital is Asadabad. It is one of the four "N2KL" provinces...
while Maulana Fazlullah was hosted in Nuristan province by Sheikh Dost Muhammad, a local Afghan Taliban leader. In a telephone conversation with The Express Tribune
The Express Tribune
The Express Tribune is the first internationally affiliated newspaper in Pakistan, in partnership with The International Herald Tribune, the global edition of The New York Times....
, Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid rejected the reports: "We cannot host guests in the current situation... there is no safe place in our country." Faqir Muhammad claimed responsibility for a July 4, 2011 attack on a paramilitary checkpoint and for similar attacks in June 2011 on several border villages in Bajaur. During a radio broadcast he stated, "Our fighters carried out these two attacks from Afghanistan, and we will launch more such attacks inside Afghanistan and in Pakistan." Tameem Nuristani, Governor of Afghanistan's Nuristan Province, also indicated to The Express Tribune that the "Afghan Taliban have never carried out cross-border attacks in Pakistan," but conceded that TTP militants had "safe-havens" in Kunar and Nuristan "Like Waziristan, we, too, have areas where the government’s writ does not exist," he said.
al-Qaeda
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan has close ties to Al Qaeda, sharing money and bomb experts and makers. John BrennanJohn O. Brennan
John O. Brennan is chief counterterrorism advisor to U.S. President Barack Obama; officially his title is Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, and Assistant to the President...
, President Obama’s chief counterterrorism adviser, said: "It's a group that is closely allied with al-Qaeda. They train together, they plan together, they plot together. They are almost indistinguishable." Ambassador-at-large Daniel Benjamin
Daniel Benjamin
Ambassador-at-large Daniel Benjamin is the coordinator for counterterrorism at the United States Department of State appointed by Secretary Clinton.-Life:He was a 1983 Marshall Scholar at New College, Oxford where he studied for BA in PPE....
stated, "The T.T.P. and Al Qaeda have a symbiotic relationship: T.T.P. draws ideological guidance from Al Qaeda, while Al Qaeda relies on the T.T.P. for safe haven in the Pashtun areas along the Afghan-Pakistani border... This mutual cooperation gives T.T.P. access to both Al Qaeda’s global terrorist network and the operational experience of its members. Given the proximity of the two groups and the nature of their relationship, T.T.P. is a force multiplier for Al Qaeda." Ayesha Siddiqa of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars , located in Washington, D.C., is a United States Presidential Memorial that was established as part of the Smithsonian Institution by an act of Congress in 1968...
describes the TTP as "a franchise of al Qaeda" and attributes strong ties to al-Qaeda's acquisition of "a more local character over the years." Since the days of the Soviet era, some al-Qaeda operatives have established themselves in Pashtun areas and enmeshed themselves in the local culture.
In 2008 Baitullah Mehsud met with Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri is an Egyptian physician, Islamic theologian and current leader of al-Qaeda. He was previously the second and last "emir" of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, having succeeded Abbud al-Zumar in the latter role when Egyptian authorities sentenced al-Zumar to life...
in South Waziristan. Prior to this meeting the Pakistani Taliban answered to the Afghan Taliban and pro-Pakistan militant commanders. At the time Pakistani authorities believed that Mehsud was in fact an al-Qaeda operative. In February 2009 Baitullah Mehsud, Hafiz Gul Bahadur and Maulavi Nazir released a statement in which they reaffirmed their allegiance to Osama bin Laden.
Ghazi Abdul Rashid Shaheed Brigade
The Ghazi Abdul Rashid Shaheed Brigade, whose name is commonly shortened to Ghazi Brigade or Ghazi Force, emerged as a jihadi organization after the Lal Masjid massacre of 2007. In 2009 the Ghazi Brigade worked closely with the TTP during military operations in the Swat Valley, and the two groups jointly planned attacks on western targets in Islamabad.Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
The TTP and the Islamic Movement of UzbekistanIslamic Movement of Uzbekistan
The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan is a militant Islamist group formed in 1991 by the Islamic ideologue Tahir Yuldashev, and former Soviet paratrooper Juma Namangani—both ethnic Uzbeks from the Fergana Valley...
(IMU) have a long history of collaboration. At one point prior to his appointment as TTP chief, Baitullah Mehsud lived with Tohir Yo'ldosh, the IMU's former leader, who became an ideological inspiration and offered the services of his 2,500 fighters to Mehsud. In April 2009 Muslim Khan listed the IMU among the TTP's allies in an interview with AP. The IMU posted a video online in September 2010 that featured footage of Yo'ldosh's successor, Abu Usman Adil, meeting with Hakimullah Mehsud and Wali-ur Rahman Mehsud.
Punjabi Taliban
The Punjabi Taliban , sometimes called the Tehrik-i-Taliban Punjab, is an alleged loose network of members of banned militant groups based in South PunjabSouth Punjab
South Punjab is the southernmost region of Pakistan's Punjab province. The districts of Bahawalpur, Multan, Rahim Yar Khan and D. G. Khan are geographically regarded as components of the region...
, the southernmost region of Pakistan's most populous Punjab province. Major factions of the so-called Punjabi Taliban include operatives of Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan and Jaysh-i-Muhammad, who have previously been involved in the Kashmir insurgency with India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in Indian-administered Kashmir, a territory claimed and disputed by Pakistan. TTP has significant recruits from Punjab based sectarian organizations also called Punjabi Taliban. The Punjabi Taliban has also developed strong connections with the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, the Afghan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
Taliban, Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi
Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi
Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi is a Pakistani militant group whose objective is to enforce Sharia law in the country. The rebel group took over much of Swat in 2007...
and various other groups based in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas
Federally Administered Tribal Areas
The Federally Administered Tribal Areas are a semi-autonomous tribal region in the northwest of Pakistan, lying between the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and the neighboring country of Afghanistan. The FATA comprise seven Agencies and six FRs...
(FATA). It has increasingly provided the foot-soldiers for violent acts and has played an important role in attacking Ahmedi, Shia, Sufi and other civilian targets in the Punjab.
The term "Punjabi Taliban" is politically sensitive among Pakistanis, given that Punjabis are the largest ethnic group in the country and have historically been disassociated with the Taliban, an organisation that has Afghan and Pashtun roots. Although claimed and believed to be an established militant group, the Government of Punjab has denied and rejected their existence. Shahbaz Sharif
Shahbaz Sharif
Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif is a well-known conservative Pakistani politician and currently President of Pakistan Muslim League . He is the brother of Nawaz Sharif, former Prime Minister of Pakistan. He is the chief minister of Pakistan's most populous province Punjab since 2008...
, the Punjab Chief Minister
Chief Minister of Punjab (Pakistan)
The Chief Minister of Punjab is elected by the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab to serve as the head of the provincial government in Punjab, Pakistan. The current Chief Minister is Shahbaz Sharif, who became the Chief Minister of Punjab as being restored after Governor's rule starting from...
, has claimed that the term Punjabi Taliban is "an insult to the Punjabis
Punjabi people
The Punjabi people , ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ), also Panjabi people, are an Indo-Aryan group from South Asia. They are the second largest of the many ethnic groups in South Asia. They originate in the Punjab region, which has been been the location of some of the oldest civilizations in the world including, the...
" and accuses that it was coined by Rehman Malik
Rehman Malik
27 April 2009 He has been the interior adviser since 27 March 2008.Senator A. Rehman Malik is a Pakistani politician, member of the Senate of Pakistan, and the current Interior Minister of Pakistan under the Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani administration. His Second name is Shetan Malik and he...
purposely on ethnic grounds. During a March 17, 2010 cabinet meeting Malik confirmed that Punjabi militants had joined Waziristan-based Taliban to stage attacks inside Punjab. Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
's C. Christine Fair
C. Christine Fair
C. Christine Fair is an assistant professor in the Center for Peace and Security Studies , within Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service....
writes that "the movement is composed of Pashtuns and Punjabis, among other Pakistani and even foreign elements."
The Lahore police accused them as responsible for the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team
2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team
The Sri Lankan cricket team attack occurred on March 3, 2009, when a bus carrying Sri Lankan cricketers, part of a larger convoy, was fired upon by 12 gunmen, near the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan. The cricketers were on their way to play the third day of the second Test against the...
which took place in Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
on 3 March 2009
The group also claimed the 2009 Lahore bombing
2009 Lahore bombing
The 2009 Lahore bombing was a bomb attack which took place on 27 May 2009 and killed at least 35 people and injured 250. During the attack gunmen fired on guards then destroyed the emergency response building at the city's police headquarters...
shortly after the attack, though the attack was also claimed by Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan.; and the May 2010 attacks on Ahmadi mosques in Lahore
May 2010 attacks on Ahmadi mosques in Lahore
The May 2010 Lahore attacks occurred on 28 May 2010 in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, during Friday prayers. 86 people were killed and more than 120 were injured in nearly simultaneous attacks against two mosques of the minority Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. After the initial attack, a hostage situation...
which were aimed at the Ahmadis minority sect.
Pamphlets found at the scene of the March 2011 assassination of Shahbaz Bhatti
Shahbaz Bhatti
Clement Shahbaz Bhatti , popularly known as Shahbaz Bhatti, was a Pakistani politician and elected member of the National Assembly from 2008. He was the first Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs from November 2008 until his assassination on 2 March 2011 in Islamabad...
implicated the Punjabi Taliban. The US drone attack which targeted Ilyas Kashmiri
Ilyas Kashmiri
Ilyas Kashmiri was a Pakistani film actor.Born in Muhalla Dara Shikoh, near Rewali Cinema, in Lahore, Punjab, British India, he started his film career from Bombay. In Bombay, the first film in which he appeared as a hero was Malika, directed and produced by Nazir...
in June 2011 also allegedly killed some members of the Punjabi Taliban.
Other groups
American officials admitted to The New York Times that they found it increasingly difficult to separate the operations of the various Pakistani militant groups active in the tribal areas of Pakistan. Individuals and groups that are believed to have a supportive relationship with the TTP include:- Harkat-ul Jihad IslamiHarkat-ul-Jihad-al-IslamiHarkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami is an Islamic fundamentalist organization most active in South Asian countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh and India since the early 1990s. It was banned in Bangladesh in 2005. The operational commander of HuJI, Ilyas Kashmiri, was reportedly killed in a U.S. Predator drone...
(HuJI), an al-Qaeda-linked terror group- Ilyas KashmiriIlyas Kashmiri (militant)Ilyas Kashmiri, also referred to as Maulana Ilyas Kashmiri and Muhammad Ilyas Kashmiri , was a senior al-Qaeda member and leader of the Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami He was also connected with the Soviet-Afghan war, the Kashmir conflict and attacks against India, Pakistan and the United States...
- Qari Saifullah AkhtarQari Saifullah AkhtarQari Saifullah Akhtar is an alleged member of Al-Qaeda currently in Pakistani custody. Akhtar, who is listed as a graduate of the Banuri mosque in Karachi, previously was the leader of Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami , a jihadi organization...
- Ilyas Kashmiri
- Jaish-e-MohammedJaish-e-MohammedJaish-e-Mohammed is a Pakistani-based, militant Islamic group established by Maulana Masood Azhar in March 2000...
- Lashkar-e-IslamLashkar-e-IslamLashkar-e-Islam , literally Army of Islam also transliterated as Lashkar-e-Islami, Lashkar-i-Islam) is a militant organization active in and around Khyber Agency, Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Pakistan. LeI was founded in 2004 by Mufti Munir Shakir...
(based in Khyber AgencyKhyber agencyKhyber is a tribal area in the FATA region of Pakistan. It is one of the eight tribal areas, better known as agencies in Pakistan. It ranges from the Tirah valley down to Peshawar...
, Pakistan)- Mangal Bagh AfridiMangal BaghMangal Bagh , also known as Mangal Bagh Afridi, is the leader of Lashkar-e-Islam, a paramilitary organization operating in Khyber Agency, Pakistan. Several Pakistani newspapers have referred to him by title as Haji Amir Mangal Bagh...
- Mangal Bagh Afridi
- Lashkar-e-JhangviLashkar-e-JhangviLashkar-e-Jhangvi is a militant organization. Formed in 1996, it has operated in Pakistan since Sipah-e-Sahaba activist Riaz Basra broke away from the SSP over differences with his seniors...
- Lashkar-e-TaibaLashkar-e-TaibaLashkar-e-Taiba – also transliterated as Lashkar-i-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Lashkar-i-Taiba, Lashkar Taiba or LeT – is one of the largest and most active militant Islamist terrorist organizations in South Asia, operating mainly from Pakistan.It was founded by Hafiz Muhammad...
- Sipah-e-Sahaba PakistanSipah-e-Sahaba PakistanSipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan is a militant Sunni Deobandi organization, and a formerly registered Pakistani political party, established in the early 1980s in Jhang by Maulana Haq Nawaz Jhangvi its stated goal is to primarily to deter major Shia influence in Pakistan in the wake of the Iranian...
- Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-MohammadiTehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-MohammadiTehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi is a Pakistani militant group whose objective is to enforce Sharia law in the country. The rebel group took over much of Swat in 2007...
(based in Swat, Pakistan)- Sufi MuhammadSufi MuhammadSufi Muhammad bin Alhazrat Hassan, born in Dir, is the founder of Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi , a Pakistani militant organisation with Wahabi and Deobandi learnings vying for implementation of Sharia in Pakistan. It operates mainly in the Dir, Swat, and Malakand districts of...
– arrested
- Sufi Muhammad
Claimed and alleged attacks
- The Pakistani government implicated the network in the December 2007 assassination of Benazir BhuttoAssassination of Benazir BhuttoThe assassination of Benazir Bhutto occurred on 27 December 2007 in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Bhutto, twice Prime Minister of Pakistan and then-leader of the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party, had been campaigning ahead of elections due in January 2008...
although the group denies the charge. The U.S. Central Intelligence AgencyCentral Intelligence AgencyThe Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
also confirmed its belief of TTP's involvement in January 2008. - The Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariate-Mohammadi (TNSM) claimed responsibility for a December 23, 2007 suicide bombing targeting a military convoy on behalf of the TTP. The blast in the Mingora area of the Swat Valley killed five soldiers and six civilians.
- TTP spokesman Maulvi Umar claimed that the group was responsible for August 21, 2008 suicide bomb attack2008 Wah bombingThe 2008 Wah bombing was a double suicide attack on the Pakistan Ordnance Factories in Wah, Pakistan, on 21 August 2008. The attack, which killed at least 70 and wounded over 100, is the deadliest on a military site in Pakistan's history...
on a military complex. - TTP claimed responsibility for the August 23, 2008 Swat Valley bombing23 August 2008 Swat Valley bombingThe 23 August 2008 Swat Valley bombing occurred on 23 August 2008 when a suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden car into a police station in Charbagh Tehsil of Swat valley of North West Frontier Province killing 20 people...
. - Someone using the name Abdur Rehman claimed that the TTP was behind a November 6, 2008 suicide bombing that targeted tribal elders, who had gathered in the BajaurBajaurBajaur or Bajur or Bajour is an Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Smallest of the agencies in FATA, it has a hilly terrain. According to the 1998 census, the population was 595,227 but other more recent estimates it has grown to 757,000...
tribal area to discuss efforts to coordinate with the government against the Pakistani Taliban. The blast took the lives of 16 and injured 31. - On November 13, 2008, the TTP intercepted a military convoy along the Khyber PassKhyber PassThe Khyber Pass, is a mountain pass linking Pakistan and Afghanistan.The Pass was an integral part of the ancient Silk Road. It is mentioned in the Bible as the "Pesh Habor," and it is one of the oldest known passes in the world....
bound for NATO troops in Afghanistan. - In telephone interviews with news media Mehsud claimed responsibility for the March 30, 2009 attack on the police training academy2009 Lahore police academy attacksAt 7.30 am on 30 March 2009, the Manawan Police Academy in Lahore, Pakistan was attacked by an estimated 12 gunmen. The perpetrators were armed with automatic weapons and grenades or rockets and some were dressed as policemen. They took over the main building during a morning parade when 750...
in LahoreLahoreLahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
. He told the BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
that the attack was in retaliation for continued missile strikesDrone attacks on Pakistan by the United States of AmericaThe United States government, led by the Central Intelligence Agency's Special Activities Division, has made a series of attacks on targets in northwest Pakistan since 2004 using drones . These attacks are part of the US' War on Terrorism campaign, seeking to defeat Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants...
from American dronesUnmanned aerial vehicleAn unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...
for which the Pakistani government shared responsibility. In the same interview Mehsud claimed two other attacks: a March 25 attack on an IslamabadIslamabadIslamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
police station and a March 30 suicide attack on a military convoy near BannuBannuBannu is the principal city of the Bannu District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan. It is an important road junction and market city. Bannu is a very old city, founded in ancient times; however, the present location of the downtown Bannu was founded by Sir Herbert Edwardes in 1848,...
. - Mehsud claimed responsibility for the Binghamton shootingsBinghamton shootingsThe Binghamton shootings took place on Friday, April 3, 2009, at the American Civic Association immigration center in Binghamton, New York, United States. At approximately 10:30 a.m. EDT, a naturalized immigrant Jiverly Antares Wong entered the facility and shot numerous people inside...
, stating that they were in retaliation for continued missile strikesDrone attacks on Pakistan by the United States of AmericaThe United States government, led by the Central Intelligence Agency's Special Activities Division, has made a series of attacks on targets in northwest Pakistan since 2004 using drones . These attacks are part of the US' War on Terrorism campaign, seeking to defeat Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants...
from American dronesUnmanned aerial vehicleAn unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...
. The FBI denied this claim and stated this was nothing to do with Massod - Azam Tariq, spokesman of the TTP, claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at a security checkpoint along the Pakistan-Afghan border near TorkhamTorkhamTorkham is a border crossing town in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan and the Khyber Agency of Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas, right on the Durand Line border....
on August 27, 2009. Tariq said by telephone that the attack was the first in retaliation for the death of Baitullah Mehsud. Although the exact number of casualties was unknown, a doctor at a nearby hospital told Dawn News that they had received 22 bodies and local people working at the blast site said they had retrieved 13 bodies. - Azam Tariq claimed responsibility for a suicide attack that killed five at the U.N.United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
's World Food ProgrammeWorld Food ProgrammeThe World Food Programme is the food aid branch of the United Nations, and the world's largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger worldwide. WFP provides food, on average, to 90 million people per year, 58 million of whom are children...
IslamabadIslamabadIslamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
offices on October 5, 2009. - The TTP, through Azam Tariq, claimed responsibility for the October 2009 attack2009 Pakistan Army General Headquarters attackThe Pakistan Army General Headquarters attack , was a hostage-rescue mission carried by SSG Division during which, on 10 October 2009, when 10 gunmen in military uniform opened fire on the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan...
on the army's headquarters at RawalpindiRawalpindiRawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
. Tariq told the Associated Press that the attack was carried out by its "PunjabiPunjab (Pakistan)Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
faction" although the military insisted the attack originated in South Waziristan. - The militant group claimed responsibility for three separate coordinated attacks in Lahore. 10 militants targeted buildings used by the Federal Investigation AgencyFederal Investigation AgencyThe Federal Investigation Agency is an agency of Pakistan, under the Ministry of Interior, that serves as a federal criminal investigative body with one of the Directorate dealing as Pakistani body of Interpol. It has a wide role in anti-terrorism, anti-fascism, anti-corruption, human smuggling...
(FIA), the Manawan Police Training SchoolManawan Police Training SchoolManawan Police Training School or Manawan Police Academy is the training school of Punjab Police which was the scene of the 2009 Lahore police academy attacks. It is located on the outskirts of the city, on a road to the border with India....
and the Elite Police AcademyElite Police AcademyElite Police Training School, Bedian Road, Lahore, Pakistan is a police training school for the Punjab Elite Police located on Bedian Road in Lahore....
. - The Pakistani Taliban, as well as the Afghan Taliban, claimed responsibility for the December 30, 2009 attack on Camp ChapmanCamp Chapman attackThe Camp Chapman attack was a suicide attack against Forward Operating Base Chapman, a key facility of the Central Intelligence Agency in Afghanistan, on December 30, 2009. The base is located near the eastern Afghan city of Khost, in a stronghold of the Taliban movement...
, a base of operations for the CIA, inside Khost ProvinceKhost ProvinceKhost is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the east of the country. Khost province used to be part of Paktia province in the past...
, AfghanistanAfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. The TTP released a video of Hakimullah Mehsud sitting next to the suicide bomber, Humam Khalil Abu Mulal al-Balawi, a JordanJordanJordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
ian national who had been working with the CIA. In the video, al-Balawi states that the attack is in retaliation for the killing of Baitullah Mehsud. Many analysts doubted that the TTP acted alone. - In a video posting on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, Qari Hussain claimed that the TTP was behind the May 2010 attempted car bomb in New York City's Times SquareTimes SquareTimes Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
. (Previously the TTP had claimed responsibility for a shooting at an immigrant centre in NY, but it was dismissed as a hoax claim ) - An attack on two minority mosques in Lahore during May 2010 was claimed by the Taliban.
- In July 2010, the TTP claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in the Mohmand Agency. Two blasts occurred outside a senior government official's office as people gathered to receive relief supplies. As many as 56 people died and at least 100 suffered injuries.
- On October 4, 2010 the TTP claimed responsibility for an attack near Islamabad on fuel tankers bound for NATO troops in Afghanistan.
- In December 2010, the TTP claimed responsibility for a double suicide bombing upon administrative buildings in the Mohmand district's Ghalalnai village. The blast killed 40-50 people. The purported head of the TTP in Mohmand, Omar Khalid, claimed responsibility in a telephone call with the AFP. The military's chief spokesman, Major GeneralMajor GeneralMajor general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
Athar AbbasAthar AbbasMajor General Athar Abbas is a two-star general and the current military spokesperson for the Pakistan Defence Forces who replaced Major General Waheed Arshad as the new Director General of Inter Services Public Relations on January 14, 2008....
indicated to Al Jazeera that the TTP attackers were based in neighboring Afghanistan. - In December 2010, the TTP in South Waziristan kidnapped 23 tribesmen who had recently attended meetings with the Pakistani military.
- The TTP claimed responsibility for a January 15, 2011 attack on NATO fuel tankers likely bound for the border crossing town of ChamanChamanChaman is the capital of Qilla Abdullah District, Balochistan, Pakistan. It is situated just south of the border with Afghanistan. Across the border in Afghanistan is the neighbouring town of Spin Boldak, in Kandahar Province...
. Azam Tariq told the AP, "We have assigned our fighters to go after NATO supply tankers wherever in Pakistan." - On January 31, 2011 Azam Tariq, on behalf of the TTP, claimed responsibility of a suicide bombing in Peshawar that targeted police. The blast killed 5 people (3 police and 2 civilians) and injured 11.
- On February 10, 2011 the TTP claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at an army compound in MardanMardanMardan , known as The city of hospitality, is a city and headquarters of Mardan District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. It is the de facto headquarters of the Yousafzai tribe and the second most populous city in the province, located at 34°12'0N 72°1'60E and an altitude of in the south...
that killed at least 31 people. Azam Tariq told the AFP that the attack was in response to repeated U.S. drone attacks and military incursions in the tribal areas. He also threatened further attacks against "those who protect the Americans". - The TTP released a video of the execution of a former ISI officer known as Colonel ImamColonel ImamColonel Sultan Amir Tarar , best known as Colonel Imam, was a Pakistan Army officer and special warfare operation specialist. He was a member of the Special Service Group of the army, an intelligence officer of the Inter-Services Intelligence and served as Pakistani Consul General at Herat,...
. The TTP said they had carried out the murder on February 17, 2011. His body was found near Mir Ali, North Waziristan. - On March 8, 2011 a car bomb explosion2011 Faisalabad bombingThe 2011 Faisalabad bombing occurred on 8 March 2011. At least 25 people were killed and over 127 wounded when a car bomb blast occurred in a compressed natural gas station in the Pakistani city of Faisalabad...
at a gas station in FaisalabadFaisalabadFaisalabad , formerly known as Lyallpur, is the third largest metropolis in Pakistan, the second largest in the province of Punjab after Lahore, and a major industrial center in the heart of Pakistan. Before the foundation of the city in 1880, the area was very thinly populated. The population has...
killed at least 32 and injured 125. Pakistani Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan claimed responsibility and stated that the intended target was a nearby ISI office. He said that the attack was in retaliation for the death of a Taliban commander the previous year. - On March 9, 2011 a suicide bomber attacked a funeral procession in Peshawar. The procession consisted of many anti-Taliban militiamen. Spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said the Pakistani Taliban had carried out the attack because the militiamen had allied themselves with the Pakistani government and, by extension, the United States.
- On April 4, 2011 two suicide bombers attacked a Sufi shrineDargahA Dargah is a Sufi shrine built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often a Sufi saint. Local Muslims visit the shrine known as . Dargahs are often associated with Sufi meeting rooms and hostels, known as khanqah...
in Dera Ghazi KhanDera Ghazi KhanDera Ghazi Khan is a city located in Dera Ghazi Khan District, Punjab, Pakistan. Dera Ghazi Khan is one of the most populous cities in Southern Punjab, and it is the largest district in Punjab in terms of area, being approximately in extent....
, Pakistan. The bombings occurred while thousands of devotees were gathered for the annual UrsUrsUrs is the death anniversary of a Sufi saint in South Asia, usually held at the saint's dargah . South Asian Sufis being mainly Chishtiyya, refer to their saints as lovers and God as beloved...
celebrations at the shrine. The attack left more than 50 people dead, as well as 120 wounded. The Pakistani Taliban are ideologically opposed to SufismSufismSufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
and claimed responsibility soon after the attacks. - Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for two remotely-detonated explosions that targeted two Pakistani Navy buses in Karachi on April 26, 2011.
- Spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan claimed responsibility for a April 28, 2011 attack upon a Pakistani Navy bus in Karachi that killed 5.
- On May 13, 2011 the TTP claimed responsibility for a dual suicide bomb attacks2011 Charsadda bombingA double bombing occurred on 13 May 2011 in Shabqadar Fort in Charsadda District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. 80 people were killed when two suicide bombs exploded in the Frontier Constabulary training center. At least 150 others were injured. The explosions occurred while cadets...
on a Frontier ConstabularyFrontier ConstabularyThe Frontier Constabulary, FC, is a paramilitary force responsible for maintaining law and order in the country.- Introduction :The Frontier Constabulary is a Federal Paramilitary Force of Pakistan which is largely drawn from the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, but operates in all the provinces of...
(FC) headquarters in Shabqadar, a town about 30 kilometers north of Peshawar, in Charsadda DistrictCharsadda DistrictCharsadda is a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan that contains the town of Charsadda. The town was part of the Peshawar ex-metropolitan region...
. The attack killed more than 80 and injured at least 115 people. Most of the casualties were FC cadets. TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan claimed that the attack was retribution for the killing of Osama bin Laden. - The TTP claimed responsibility for a May 22, 2011 attack on a naval station in Karachi.
- A suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden pickup truck into a Peshawar police building on May 25, 2011. The blast killed six and wounded 30. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility.
- On September 13, 2011, five militants with assault rifles and rockets attacked a school bus, killing the driver, four boys aged 10 to 15, and wounding two seven-year-old girls. TTP claimed responsibility.
See also
- Fedayeen al-IslamFedayeen al-IslamFedayeen al-Islam is a militant group in Pakistan under the leadership of Hakimullah Mehsud, who was a deputy to Baitullah Mehsud in the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan prior to Baitullah's death...
- Haqqani networkHaqqani networkThe Haqqani Network is an insurgent group fighting against US-led NATO forces and the government of Afghanistan. Originating from Afghanistan during the mid-1970s, it was nurtured by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence during the 1980s Soviet war in...
- List of Taliban fatality reports in Pakistan
- Operation Rah-e-NijatOperation Rah-e-NijatThe Operation Rah-e-Nijat was a Pakistani military operation against the Taliban and other Islamist rebels in the South Waziristan area of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas that began on June 19, 2009; a major ground offensive was subsequently launched on October 17...
- Targeted killingTargeted killingTargeted killing is the deliberate, specific targeting and killing, by a government or its agents, of a supposed terrorist or of a supposed "unlawful combatant" who is not in that government's custody...
- Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-MohammadiTehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-MohammadiTehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi is a Pakistani militant group whose objective is to enforce Sharia law in the country. The rebel group took over much of Swat in 2007...
- Terrorism in PakistanTerrorism in PakistanTerrorism in Pakistan has become a major and highly destructive phenomenon in recent years. The annual death toll from terrorist attacks has risen from 164 in 2003 to 3318 in 2009, with a total of 35,000 Pakistanis killed as of 2010. According to the government of Pakistan, the direct and indirect...
Further reading
- Who is Who in the Pakistani Taliban: A Sampling of Insurgent Personalities in Seven Operational Zones in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) and North Western Frontier Province NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL Program for Culture and Conflict Studies
- Interview with Tehrik-i-Taliban spokesperson Muslim Khan by Radio France Internationale in English April 2009
- S. R. Valentine, "Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan: Ideology & Beliefs", Pakistan Security Research Unit [PSRU], Briefing Paper 49, September 2009.
- S. R. Valentine, "'We are the Soldiers of Islam':Tehriki Taliban Pakistan and the Ideology of Dissent", ch. in U. Butt & N. Elahi (eds), Escaping Quagmire: Security, Strategy and the Future of Pakistan, Continuum, 2010.