ISLAMABAD
One of the most powerful Taliban factions in Pakistan has split away from the main Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) network to form its own entity, the new group announced Wednesday.
The departure of the Mehsud faction, which belongs to the Taliban's founding family, means the new group will take almost half of the TTP's fighters with them.
It will operate under the leadership of Khan Syed, a former commander for deceased leader Hakeemullah Mehsud who uses the alias Khalid Sajna and was dismissed from the Taliban leadership for his fighters' involvement in infighting in northwestern tribal regions.
The new entity's spokesperson Azam Tariq said in a pamphlet distributed in South Waziristan that the TTP had lost sight of its objectives.
“The TTP mechanism has gone into the hands of invisible forces due to the current TTP leadership. Therefore, we cannot go along with them any more,” Tariq said.
He said “conspirators” had managed to penetrate the current setup to create a parallel faction within the Mehsud tribe, whose leadership had decided to preserve the tribe's unity by creating its own group under Sajna's leadership.
“These conspirators taking advantage of our patience, have killed many of our Mujahiddin and even Ulema (religious scholars) leaving no other option for us but to part our ways with the current setup,” the pamphlet read.
Azam was referring to the Shaharyar Mehsud group loyal to current leader Maulvi Fazlullah, whose militants have been involved in battles with the Sajna group in the northwestern regions South and North Waziristan, that have claimed more than 80 since March.
Blaming the current TTP leadership for being involved in attacks on public places, extortion and kidnapping, Azam said the fighters led by Sajna consider these acts forbidden.
Many believe the split had become inevitable since the election of Fazlullah as TTP chief after Hakeemullah Mehsud was killed by a U.S. drone in November 2013.
Fazlullah beat Sajna to the role but was the first leader of the Taliban network who was not from the powerful Mehsud tribe, which comprises 60 percent of South Waziristan's population, and founded the group.
Biggest blow to Taliban capacity
Analysts see the splintering of the TTP as a major blow to the formidable network, which was blamed for numerous attacks across Pakistan since 2007.
“Mehsud fighters were considered the heart of the network,” Ishtiaq Ahmed, an expert on tribal affairs, told Anadolu Agency, adding that it would further complicate stop-start peace negotiations with the government. “Now, the TTP and the Mehsud group will negotiate with the government separately and may come up with different conditions altogether.”
He said the division of the Taliban can be considered a sign that government policies have had some limited success but that there could be a risk of the Mehsud faction joining with other militant groups, including Al Qaeda.
“This is biggest ever blow the TTP has conceded in recent years," said Rahimullah Yusufzai, a Peshawar-based expert on Afghan and tribal affairs. “Mehsuds are the founders of the TTP and their seperation will certainly weaken the TTP’s capacity to attack.”
The TTP was formed by commander Baitullah Mehsud, who was killed in a 2009 U.S. drone strike in South Waziristan. His close confidant Hakeemullah Mehsud was appointed successor until he too was killed in a drone strike in November 2013.
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