NOOR Wali Mehsud, the Chief of TTP, Fitna Al-Khawarij, has united over 30 terrorist groups since 2018, and he has also restored the Mehsud clan’s monopoly in Al-Khawarij. He manipulates commanders and militants through power games for complete control of the terrorist outfit and deceives militants with religious articulation. When it suits his interests, he divides them and encourages a reunion after suppressing rival commanders. An important terrorist commander from the Bajaur group of Fitna Al-Khawarij, Rahimullah, alias Omer Shahid, lost his life in Kunar, Afghanistan, in a fresh episode of infighting among Al-Khawarij commanders.
The gun attack that killed him also claimed the lives of his three close associates. The slain commander had developed differences with Noor Wali Mehsud, and he eliminated him to suppress opposition and maintain complete control over militants. Reportedly, Noor Wali has also engaged the Hafiz Gulbahadur group for a merger with Fitna Al-Khawarij. The group has recently shown a potent capability for violence in North Waziristan and surrounding areas. Al-Khawarij desires to control it, but Hafiz Gulbahadur is unlikely to submit to Noor Wali. If these discussions fail, it could lead to clashes with Al-Khawarij, as Noor Wali has a strong appetite for control.
After serious clashes in 2023 that resulted in the deaths of numerous commanders and terrorists, Al-Khawarij announced a reunion with its Mohmand chapter, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA). The split took place when Noor Wali attempted to enforce his favorite commanders on JuA. JuA broke away from Al-Khawarij in 2014, and Noor Wali brought it into the Fitna Al-Khawarij fold in 2020. Shockingly, JuA chief Omar Khalid Khorasani was killed after this reunion, raising doubts about Noor Wali’s machinations.
The terrorists of Fitna Al-Khawarij are growing increasingly disturbed by the lies and deceit of top commanders. It conducts attacks in Pakistan but denies its responsibility, raising doubts about its motives and designs. Moreover, many terrorists are aware of the turf wars among commanders and the vengeance killings of rivals, leading them to lose faith in the misleading ideology of Fitna Al-Khawarij’s leadership against Pakistan. The rifts among Al-Khawarij commanders mainly occur over top appointments, funds and assets. Personal grudges and tribalism exacerbate the rifts. Slain Hakimullah Mehsud killed several commanders for their hold on Fitna Al-Khawarij from 2009 to 2013. Similarly, Mullah Fazlullah, who was also slain, also killed numerous Al-Khwarij terrorists during turf wars from 2014 to 2018.
Fitna Al-Khawarij terrorists are losing faith in the narrative of false jihad in Pakistan, as many of them have grown weary of living as fugitives in Afghanistan and are eager to return to their community, families and friends. They are also facing pressure from close family elders to quit terrorism, as the war against foreign forces has ended in the region. After the departure of ISAF and NATO forces from Afghanistan and the termination of logistic support set-ups in Pakistan, they have no reason to continue terrorist attacks and they question the killings of Muslims on a large scale in terrorism. Resultantly, the leadership demoralizes the lower tier terrorists and puts pressure on them to engage in terrorist activities.
Islamic scholars, religious seminaries and mosques have become very vocal against terrorism in Pakistan and some segments of the Afghan Taliban are also showing opposition to Al-Khawarij attacks on innocent Muslims. Building ideological pressure has disillusioned some commanders and a large number of Fitna Al-Khawarij terrorists, leading them to express remorse over the indiscriminate killing of innocent people in terrorist attacks. However, Fitna Al-Khawarij chief Noor Wali Mehsud is driven by ambition for power and he is exploiting tribalism and misusing religious sentiments for his own personal glory. In this quest, he is collaborating with anti-Pakistan forces, Indian proxies and international terrorist organizations to revamp terrorism in Pakistan.
Counterterrorism experts believe that Noor Wali Mehsud is seeking greater control over terrorist groups to deter the Afghan Taliban, as Pakistan is exerting pressure on the interim Afghan government to arrest him and monitor Fitna Al-Khawarij’s activities on Afghan soil. However, some analysts have revealed that he is uniting terrorist groups under pressure from Indian RAW proxies in an attempt to revive terrorism in Pakistan.
—The writer, an M.Phil IR from Quaid-e-Azam University.
