[DAWN] As the self-styled Islamic State (IS) gains ground in the Middle East, key commanders of the fractured Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) are submitting to the overtures of the violent global movement that is slowly making inroads into Pakistan. At the same time, regrouping of some of the deadliest outfits in the country could signal great trouble, even as the TTP and allied Al-Qaeda fighters are perceived to be struggling to hold fort against a military onslaught and the country-wide National Action Plan.IS gained ground, now it's losing ground. Unless something changes dramatically they've peaked thanks to the Kurds. But the export version is dangerous, too.
IS, which is led by Abu Bakar Al-Baghdadi, is currently based in Iraq and Syria and occupies border areas. It is accused of killing hundreds of Muslims and some American and UK citizens, which include journalists and aid workers.
They're vicious beasts, but disciplined troops and air power can roll them up.
Reports of IS activity inside the country emerged in 2014 against the backdrop of two ongoing military operations against the TTP and its affiliates in North Waziristan and Khyber Agency.
And so on, blah blah blah, until finally:
TTP Jamaatul Ahrar
...A Pak Taliban
splintergroup that split off from the Mullah Fazlullah faction because it wasn't violent enough...
, a powerful group that has claimed many of the recent devastating terror attacks in Pakistain has yet to decide on Baghdadi's offer.
TTPJA front man Ehsanullah Ehsan
...formerly the front man for the Pak Taliban, now the lips and tongue of the Jamaatul Ahrar splinter group in Mohmand Agency...
said the organization would consider the offer, given that both TTP and IS were fighting for a common cause.
"We will see whether we can fight better for the cause on our own or by joining IS...if the offer is serious, the matter will be decided by our political shura," he said.
Ehsan added that the TTP was divided into several factions over administrative matters, but they were now regrouping.
Some evidence of this regrouping has emerged only recently, with holy warriors belonging to the Jamaatul Ahrar and Lashkar-e-Islam
...a group of Islamic bandidos infesting Khyber Agency. It's headed by a former bus driver....
(LI) pledging allegiance to the Mullah Fazlullah
...son-in-law of holy man Sufi Mohammad. Known as Mullah FM, Fazlullah had the habit of grabbing his FM mike when the mood struck him and bellowing forth sermons. Sufi suckered the Pak govt into imposing Shariah on the Swat Valley and then stepped aside whilst Fazlullah and his Talibs imposed a reign of terror on the populace like they hadn't seen before, at least not for a thousand years or so. For some reason the Pak intel services were never able to locate his transmitter, much less bomb it. After ruling the place like a conquered province for a year or so, Fazlullah's Talibs began gobbling up more territory as they pushed toward Islamabad, at which point as a matter of self-preservation the Mighty Pak Army threw them out and chased them into Afghanistan...
-led TTP, even as there is heightened speculation that the TTP is slowly fading away.
Mohammad Umar Khorasani, spokesperson for the TTP, denied speculation that groups had split away, saying: "So far no proper group has defected from TTP to join any other murderous Moslem faction. However,
man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them...
there have been certain instances where a few individuals have either left the main group or they have been expelled. A big chunk of Mehsud Taliban is still with the TTP."Khorasani said considerable portions of Mohmand and Orakzai agencies are still part of the TTP. He further said TTP's presence in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
, Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
and Sindh is also playing a role in strengthening the organization.
"Some people were expelled owing to their incompetence hence they started to politicise the issue," he alleged, adding that a majority of people are returning through the jirga system which, in turn, is strengthening the movement.
Alluding to IS' Baghdadi, Khorasani added that, "We hold our alliance with Mullah Omar
... a minor Pashtun commander in the war against the Soviets who made good as leader of the Taliban. As ruler of Afghanistan, he took the title
Leader of the Faithful. The imposition of Pashtunkhwa on the nation institutionalized ignorance and brutality in a country already notable for its own fair share of ignorance and brutality...
and will continue to do so until his death. There is no question of choosing a new leader while he is alive."
Of those who left the movement, one was the leader of
Orakzai Agency... crawling with holy men, home to Darra Adam Khel, the world's largest illegal arms bazaar. 14 distinct tribes of beturbanned primitives inhabit Orakzai agency's 1500 or so square kilometers...
while the rest were commanders who worked under Hafiz Muhammad Saeed
Khan of Orakzai Agency, he said. "The places made vacant by those who left the movement have been filled by more compatible and experienced leaders."