The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)

The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP): Origins, Objectives and Key Commanders (Part one)



Nek Mohammad

The origin of the TTP in Pakistan begins with one man - Nek Mohammad . Nek was an active member of the Taliban in Afghanistan. He joined the movement in 1993 at the age of 18 and during the Taliban regime, had fought alongside the Pakistani FC (Frontier Constabulary militia) in Afghanistan against the Northern Alliance . However, after the fall of the Taliban regime in Kabul and Kandahar by the 7th of December 2001, he retreated to Wana and even helped facilitate Taliban and Al-Qaeda to settle in Waziristan.

By 2003, Nek Mohammad began gathering local tribesmen to attack NATO forces in Afghanistan with the help of Afghan war veterans Haji Omar, Omar Sharif and Maulvi Abbas. Additionally, he began giving refuge to the family members of the Afghan Taliban, the Arab fighters of Al-Qaeda and the Uzbek militants of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan of Tahir Yuldashey .

During this time, Pakistan’s policy was that of turning a blind eye to not only these militant activities but also to the continuing build-up of foreign militants, wanted men amongst them, in the tribal areas, particularly Waziristan .  However, under constant pressure from the United States to act against the buildup of militants in its own territory, Pakistan was compelled into launching its largest military operation yet against Nek Mohammad. Assisted by Baitullah Mehsud, Abdullah Mehsud and others, Nek Mohammad fought the Pakistani army for several weeks. The intense fighting was only concluded with the Shakai agreement between the Pakistani army and the now emerging Pakistani Taliban.

The Shakai agreement was troublesome and inconclusive at best. Not only was there no written agreement but no foreign militants surrendered. Even Nek Mohammad did not surrender . The only effect of this agreement was that Nek Mohammad was transformed overnight into a hero who had “defeated” the Pakistani army . However, within two weeks of the agreement, Nek Mohammad was targeted and killed in a US drone attack .

The death of Nek Mohammad, instead of being a serious blow to militant activities in FATA, ended up having the opposite effect. Not only was Nek’s status further elevated as a martyr but his followers began seeing the need for unifying the scattered groups of fighters under an umbrella organization. In December, 2003, commanders from South Waziristan, North Waziristan, Orakzai, Kurram, Khyber, Mohmand, Bajaur and Darra Adamkhel tribal regions and the districts of Swat, Buner, Upper Dir, Lower Dir, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Tank, Peshawar, Dera Ismail Khan, Mardan and Kohat met secretly and chalked out the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.



The Alliance

The secret meeting of the various Taliban commanders in December, 2007 led to the formation of a Taliban shura or council of forty Taliban groups. They became popularly known as the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or the Taliban Movement of Pakistan. Baitullah Mehsud was elected as the group’s amir or leader. Maulana Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a North Waziristan commander, was elected as the deputy chief while the honorary position of general secretary went to the “FM Mullah”, Fazlullah of Swat. However, Hafiz Gul Bahadur soon fell out with the TTP and parted ways in order to join in with Mullah Nazir of North Waziristan, who had signed peace agreements with Pakistan . The TTP, however, considered Pakistan a murtid (or apostate) state, especially after the ill-advised Red Mosque operations of the Musharraf regime that left dozens of seminary students dead and caused widespread outrage amongst Pakistani society. The Red Mosque operation was also the impetus behind some of the most deadly suicide attacks on Pakistan’s armed forces .

The objectives of the TTP were simple. Jihad or holy war was now to be conducted with coordinated efforts, the aim being maximum pressure on NATO and its Pakistani allies. At the same time, they would also combine their resources and manpower to become an effective fighting force. The main objective of the organization was to defeat the ISAF forces in Afghanistan, established their brand of Shari’ah Law in FATA and Afghanistan or restore the Caliphate, as they prefer to call it .

Speaking to Al-Jazeera journalist Ahmed Zaidan in January, 2008, Baitullah Mehsud said, “The main objective of the coalition of militants is waging a defensive jehad. The Pakistan army is deploying its soldiers under order from George Bush. The army is bombarding our houses and fighting with us. Therefore, we have formed this coalition to guarantee the safety of civilians and this war which the army launched in the tribal areas is an American war. We no more feel sad about the Pakistani soldiers’ deaths. They are actually implementing the orders of the West and the US and they are destroying our houses. And I do pray that Allah will guide them back to the right path because they are Muslims and this is an Islamic country. But when the army soldiers tome to this areas to kill us, we will definitely be killing them”.

Curiously enough, the council has also adopted article 5 of NATO, citing that an attack on any one of the members of the TTP would be considered an attack on the entire organization . The TTP, thus, spread its network in all seven agencies of the FATA and in the settled districts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Bannu, Karak, Hangu, Kulachi, Dera Ismail Khan (D.I. Khan), Lakki Marwat, Doaba, Kohat, Dir, Buner, and to some extent Mardan, the Swat Valley, and Shangla district .

South Waziristan, particularly Miram Shah, became the headquarters and the base of operations for the TTP. Concurrently, South Waziristan’s federally appointed political agent became a mere spectator as the TTP virtually took over all of South Waziristan’s affairs, becoming the judge, jury, executioner as well as the police, the taxation authority, the religious authority and the executive of the agency. The state-writ of Pakistan was systematically and swiftly dismantled. Following the traditional Taliban extreme interpretation of Deobandi Sunni Islam with a heavy dose of Salafi or Wahabi influences, the TTP began growing into prominence by attacking the Shi’ite minority in neighboring D.I. Khan . The TTP also began carrying out deadly attacks against the poorly armed soldiers of the FC, a trend that continues to this day .

However, the TTP’s activities did not stop there. As allies of Al-Qaeda , the TTP not only facilitated Al-Qaeda’s global jihad ideals but also helped train and equip various groups and individuals that were meant to carry out attacks in mainland Europe, the United Kingdom and North America .