The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP): Indigenous movement or foreign mercenaries/agents?
The narrative in most Pakistani circles in Lahore and Rawalpindi is that the Pakistani Taliban are nothing more than agents of the Indian intelligence agency RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) and the American CIA (Central Intelligence Agency). It is believed that the aim of the TTP is to create instability inside Pakistan so that, one day, the state machinery becomes so weak that the US has to intervene militarily in order to 'remove' Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. It is asserted that the Taliban do not attack Muslims whereas the TTP has made it a point to attack Muslim Pakistanis. It is very conveniently forgotten that most of the victims of the 'Afghan' Taliban have been Muslims. Furthermore, no evidence to this day has been provided by anyone that suggests that the TTP are mercenaries hired by foreign agencies. In fact, evidence to the contrary is abundant, the most glaring being the TTP's Camp Chapman attack of December 2009, in which 9 CIA agents lost their lives.
So can the TTP be considered foreign proxies or do they believe in the righteousness of the cause that they are fighting for? The evidence suggests that although the TTP leadership is indigenous and indoctrinated at home, there are many fighters within their ranks, especially Arabs (of al-Qaeda) and Uzbeks (of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan), who are foreign to the region. There have even been Muslim nationals of Germany, France and the Netherlands, who have been killed or captured fighting alongside the TTP, but their numbers are limited . However, as a whole, the TTP is a homegrown movement with its leadership as well as fighting force consisting mostly of Ahmadzai Wazirs, the Mehsuds, and the Bhittanis tribes .
All the major TTP commanding figures - Nek Mohammad, Baitullah Mehsud, Hakimullah Mehsud, Qari Hussain, Wali-ur-Rehman, Maulana Fazlullah and others are Pakistani nationals. Furthermore, they have all received education from religious seminaries in Pakistan. Their radicalization was also a part of the then join Pak-US venture to raise anti-Soviet militant-forces from FATA. In all the cases, the TTP commanders received practical training on the battlefield in Afghanistan with the blessing of the Pakistani security apparatus, which, itself, was involved in Afghanistan’s civil war (1992-2001) .
Around 85% of the TTP funding is also local , which comes by means of kidnapping, extortion, illegal checkpoints, the drug trade, seminaries and other means (details in the next blog). However, most of the military techniques and strategies employed by the TTP (especially the extensive use of IEDs) come from experienced al-Qaeda operatives who fought in Iraq .
Furthermore, the Arab and Uzbek fighters entered Waziristan at the behest of Nek Mohammad, who had led most of the fleeing al-Qaeda and Taliban members to his native Waziristan after October, 2001. Initially, Pakistan turned a blind eye towards these militants, who were now pouring in my the thousands, and decided to take no action against them as long as they were “registered” by the local Pashtun Taliban commanders and they did not attack the Pakistani state (Shakai peace agreement) . However, these peace agreements began to unravel as US drones began bombarding Waziristan and Musharraf launched the Red Mosque operation in Islamabad. All of these fighters, foreigners amongst them turned against the Pakistanis. During the 2008 operation Rah-e-Nijat, the Pakistani army estimated that there were between 500 and 5,000 Uzbek militants in South Waziristan, along with 10,000 to 20,000 indigenous Taliban fighters . Given the low casualty-count of the operation, nevertheless, it is believed that the lower estimate was correct instead of the higher figure of 5,000 as the military declared victory in South Waziristan after having killed and captured only 600 militants .
Another aspect of the TTP, which points towards it being a predominantly local organization, is the inclusion of Punjabis in the terror group. Terrorist groups such as the Sipa-Sahaba Pakistan (the soldiers of the Companions), Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (the army of Jhangvi), Lashkar-e-Taiba (the army of the righteous) and other groups, that have traditionally been based in Punjab, have become allied with the TTP . In fact, the 10th October 2009 attack on the Pakistani army’s General Headquarters in Rawalpindi was launched by the Punjabi Taliban in support of their cousins in Waziristan.
Therefore, it may be concluded that although a small percentage of the TTP’s fighting force consists of foreign fighters, they are not mercenaries (guns for hire). Those sections of foreign fighters within the TTP’s ranks are hardened fundamentalists who have left their native homelands in Central Asia, Punjab and the Middle-East with the belief that their cause is justified and worth dying for. The core and rank and file of the TTP is predominantly indigenous. Furthermore, the origins and direction of the TTP continue to remain homegrown.
The narrative in most Pakistani circles in Lahore and Rawalpindi is that the Pakistani Taliban are nothing more than agents of the Indian intelligence agency RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) and the American CIA (Central Intelligence Agency). It is believed that the aim of the TTP is to create instability inside Pakistan so that, one day, the state machinery becomes so weak that the US has to intervene militarily in order to 'remove' Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. It is asserted that the Taliban do not attack Muslims whereas the TTP has made it a point to attack Muslim Pakistanis. It is very conveniently forgotten that most of the victims of the 'Afghan' Taliban have been Muslims. Furthermore, no evidence to this day has been provided by anyone that suggests that the TTP are mercenaries hired by foreign agencies. In fact, evidence to the contrary is abundant, the most glaring being the TTP's Camp Chapman attack of December 2009, in which 9 CIA agents lost their lives.
So can the TTP be considered foreign proxies or do they believe in the righteousness of the cause that they are fighting for? The evidence suggests that although the TTP leadership is indigenous and indoctrinated at home, there are many fighters within their ranks, especially Arabs (of al-Qaeda) and Uzbeks (of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan), who are foreign to the region. There have even been Muslim nationals of Germany, France and the Netherlands, who have been killed or captured fighting alongside the TTP, but their numbers are limited . However, as a whole, the TTP is a homegrown movement with its leadership as well as fighting force consisting mostly of Ahmadzai Wazirs, the Mehsuds, and the Bhittanis tribes .
All the major TTP commanding figures - Nek Mohammad, Baitullah Mehsud, Hakimullah Mehsud, Qari Hussain, Wali-ur-Rehman, Maulana Fazlullah and others are Pakistani nationals. Furthermore, they have all received education from religious seminaries in Pakistan. Their radicalization was also a part of the then join Pak-US venture to raise anti-Soviet militant-forces from FATA. In all the cases, the TTP commanders received practical training on the battlefield in Afghanistan with the blessing of the Pakistani security apparatus, which, itself, was involved in Afghanistan’s civil war (1992-2001) .
Around 85% of the TTP funding is also local , which comes by means of kidnapping, extortion, illegal checkpoints, the drug trade, seminaries and other means (details in the next blog). However, most of the military techniques and strategies employed by the TTP (especially the extensive use of IEDs) come from experienced al-Qaeda operatives who fought in Iraq .
Furthermore, the Arab and Uzbek fighters entered Waziristan at the behest of Nek Mohammad, who had led most of the fleeing al-Qaeda and Taliban members to his native Waziristan after October, 2001. Initially, Pakistan turned a blind eye towards these militants, who were now pouring in my the thousands, and decided to take no action against them as long as they were “registered” by the local Pashtun Taliban commanders and they did not attack the Pakistani state (Shakai peace agreement) . However, these peace agreements began to unravel as US drones began bombarding Waziristan and Musharraf launched the Red Mosque operation in Islamabad. All of these fighters, foreigners amongst them turned against the Pakistanis. During the 2008 operation Rah-e-Nijat, the Pakistani army estimated that there were between 500 and 5,000 Uzbek militants in South Waziristan, along with 10,000 to 20,000 indigenous Taliban fighters . Given the low casualty-count of the operation, nevertheless, it is believed that the lower estimate was correct instead of the higher figure of 5,000 as the military declared victory in South Waziristan after having killed and captured only 600 militants .
Another aspect of the TTP, which points towards it being a predominantly local organization, is the inclusion of Punjabis in the terror group. Terrorist groups such as the Sipa-Sahaba Pakistan (the soldiers of the Companions), Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (the army of Jhangvi), Lashkar-e-Taiba (the army of the righteous) and other groups, that have traditionally been based in Punjab, have become allied with the TTP . In fact, the 10th October 2009 attack on the Pakistani army’s General Headquarters in Rawalpindi was launched by the Punjabi Taliban in support of their cousins in Waziristan.
Therefore, it may be concluded that although a small percentage of the TTP’s fighting force consists of foreign fighters, they are not mercenaries (guns for hire). Those sections of foreign fighters within the TTP’s ranks are hardened fundamentalists who have left their native homelands in Central Asia, Punjab and the Middle-East with the belief that their cause is justified and worth dying for. The core and rank and file of the TTP is predominantly indigenous. Furthermore, the origins and direction of the TTP continue to remain homegrown.
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