TEHREEK-E-TALIBAN PAKISTAN STEPS UP ACTIVITIES FOLLOWING BIN LADIN’S DEATH

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has emerged as a clear and present danger to Pakistan’s national security. It is gaining confidence and aiming to expand its area of operations. Since Osama bin Laden’s death on May 2, TTP has killed at least 153 people and injured another 200 in various attacks to avenge bin Laden’s death. Amongst the targets were paramilitary cadets, a U.S. consulate convoy, and Pakistan Navy’s base PNS Mehran. TTP has global ambitions and has claimed responsibility for planning the attempted car bombing at Times Square in New York on July 7, 2010, and training the bomber Faisal Shahzad.

BACKGROUND: Although the term jihadi group was coined in recent times, the first jihadi group of the subcontinent was the Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen led by Sayyid Ahmed of Bareili (1786–1831). Sayyid Ahmed was deeply influenced by the ideas of Muhammad Ibn-Abdul Wahhab. In south Asia, Abul Ala Maududi, the founder of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), produced a literature which divides the world into the Islamic and the un-Islamic. He also laid out a stage-by-stage strategy for Islamic revolution in his many speeches and writings. His book Al-Jihad-fil-Islam remains a comprehensive book on the subject. The Pakistani branch of the Deobandi School emphasizes the importance of Jihad. In recent years, a group of Deobandi ulema (scholars) have articulated jihad as a sacred right and obligation, encouraging their followers to go to any country to wage jihad to protect the Muslims of that country. These jihadi groups use various Quranic verses to justify their ideology. They have also produced extensive literature to explain and justify their struggle. In terms of producing literature, they are close to communist guerrillas of the past; this similarity has yet to become a subject of academic inquiry. Under the influence of the Arab mujahedeen, most of the South Asian Jihadist elements have over the years also absorbed the ideology of takfir, according to which all Muslims who are not supporting such groups are partners of the Kafir (infidel) forces, and are hence legitimate targets.

The Taliban movement mostly comprises of fighters trained and financed by the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Pakistan during the joint jihad against the USSR in 1980s. These fighters came together from various Mujahedeen groups to form what later came to be known as the Taliban. It is widely believed that the Taliban sort under a number of commands: the southern, south-eastern and eastern Afghanistan and South Waziristan, in the tribal areas of Pakistan. However, these sections of the Taliban are not under any centralized command; they use different tactics and might also follow different ideologies. Most western Analysts believe that the Pakistani Taliban is basically part of the larger Taliban movement. However, a closer examination of the TTP puts this assertion into question.

IMPLICATIONS: Most of the jihadis in Pakistan, especially the splinter groups of various organizations, are now operating under the umbrella of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (Religious Students' Movement of Pakistan). TTP, a Deobandi Sunni organization, was established by Baitullah Mehsud in South Waziristan in December 2007. TTP’s objectives include cleansing Pakistan of the foreign presence, meaning U.S. and overall Western presence, implementing Sharia and establishing a Caliphate. TTP is heavily influenced by the Mehsud tribe and militia. After the death of Baitullah Mehsud in a drone attack in August 2009, Hakimullah Mehsud, a confidant of Baitullah and the TTP commander for Khyber, Kurram and Orakzai became the Central Amir (leader) of the TTP. He is believed to be extremely sectarian and a cousin of Qari Hussain Ahmed Mehsud, who was reputed to have planned several suicide bombings before he was killed in a drone attack. The Central Amir is in overall command of the organization and is assisted by a senior Naib Amir and a General Secretary. Decisions are taken by a Shura (consultative body) of 40 members.

A closer look at TTP’s operational record since 2007 illustrates that it aims at creating chaos and fear in Pakistan through suicide bombings. By doing this, TTP believes that it can destabilize the state and force Islamabad to accept its demands. According to various experts and figures, TTP was responsible for at least 136 suicide bombings, 316 rocket attacks, 119 remote controlled bombs, 149 abductions, 69 beheadings, 12 missile attacks, 272 time bombings, 239 IEDs, 44 hand grenade attacks, 444 shootings and 142 other attacks between 2007 and 2009. It also attacked a number of targets outside the tribal areas: the Federal Investigation Agency’s Lahore office, the Naval War College in Lahore, the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, the Wah ordinance Factory, the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, a police training school, and the GHQ Rawalpindi to name a few. TTP finances its activities from ransom money, bank robberies, forced taxes and drugs.

TTP claims to be the Pakistan chapter or branch of the Taliban movement in Afghanistan. In fact, Baituallah Mehsud claimed that he was directly appointed by Mullah Omar at the time of the establishment of TTP. However, there are signs indicating otherwise. For instance, in January 2008, Taliban spokesman Zaibihullah Mujahid stated: “We have no concern with anybody joining or leaving the Taliban movement in Pakistan. We are an Afghan movement and Baitullah is a Pakistani and we as the Afghan Taliban have nothing to do with his appointment”. TTP has also been involved in fighting with other jihadi groups, especially groups insisting on focusing their energy on Afghanistan. In one such clash, TTP killed Muslim Khan, also known as Shah Khalid along with his deputy, a veteran jihadi with links to the Afghan Taliban. TTP also killed Haji Namdar, a local warlord.

TTP also contains a non-pashtun group named the Punjabi Taliban, which mainly comprises of members of mainland Pakistani groups and splinters or break away factions from Kashmiri groups. These include Harkat-ul-Jihadi-e-Islami (HUJI), Jamiatul Furqan or Abdul Jabbar Group. The Punjabi Taliban is estimated to consist of about 2,000 people, mostly originating in Rahim Yar Khan, Lahore, Multan, Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan and other parts of Southern and Northern Punjab. It is claimed that 95 percent of the Punjabi Taliban speak fluent Pashtu and are more brutal than the Taliban of South Waziristan and other tribal regions.

TTP poses a long time threat to Pakistan’s national security. Pakistan’s interior minister considers it to be an extension of al Qaeda: “We have certain evidence that there is a close connection, and that there are similarities between al Qaeda and the TTP … If al Qaeda is to move into the tribal areas, they have to look to the TTP for refuge … The TTP is a host to al Qaeda and is their mouth piece”.

CONCLUSIONS: It remains unclear whether TTP is a sub-group of the Afghanistan based Taliban movement or an independent terrorist group. However, one cannot ignore the fact that TTP cadre is much better trained and equipped than the Taliban in Afghanistan. The execution of six recent attacks on various airports and airbases in Afghanistan by the Taliban and the attack on PNS Mehran are illustrative in this regard. Whatever happens in Afghanistan, especially following the ongoing U.S. negotiations with the Taliban, the fact remains that the threat TTP poses to Pakistan’s national security is increasing. The post May 2 wave of terror attacks are a clear indication of this.

AUTHOR’S BIO: Rizwan Zeb is based at the Centre for Muslim States and Societies (CMSS), University of Western Australia. He was previously a Benjamin Meaker visiting Professor of Politics at IAS, University of Bristol and a visiting scholar at the Brookings Institution.