What is Happening between Hafiz Gul Bahadur and TTP?
In the last three days, rumours emerged that Pakistani Taliban factions of Hafiz Gul Bahadur and TTP might merge after a long discussion between the two.
Since February 26, militants affiliated with major Pakistani Taliban factions, Hafiz Gul Bahadur group (HGB) and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have repeatedly stated on online platforms that discussions between the leaders of the organisations, Hafiz Gul Bahadur and Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud are underway in an effort to bring the groups together under a sole platform.
Hafiz Gul Bahadur supporters started to share the information online, arguing that allegiance between the two organisations was the main topic of discussion of a number of meetings which had been specifically held in order to create a united front among jihadist parties in Pakistan affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban.
Soon afterwards, many other accounts, both affiliated with the TTP and with HGB flooded social media platforms with the reported news, wishing for a positive results for the ongoing talks. Some supporters argued that this would be an important goal for Pakistani Taliban factions in order to reinforce the unity among different factions.
Subsequently, some news outlets started to report that HGB and another faction of Pakistani Taliban, Tehreek-e-Lashkar-e-Islam Pakistan (TLIP, or simply Lashkar-e-Islam, LeI) had both pledged allegiance to the TTP leader, Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud. Some pro-TTP and pro-Afghan Taliban accounts, too, shared this news, claiming that they had united under one leader and one flag.
However, after a couple of days, the TTP and HGB factions rejected this news. While the militants acknowledged that talks did happen between the two for the creation of a united platform, they stated that for now, no major decision has been adopted, and that talks were still ongoing. Particularly, HGB spokesman made clear that Hafiz Gul Bahadur did not pledge allegiance, and that his faction was still dubious on how to combine the two factions and the rules of merging. Another major faction of HGB, such as Jabhat Ansar al-Mahdi Khorasan (JAMK), through the latter’s spokesman, also confirmed that no decision had been taken.
On the other hand, some TTP linked communications’ channels issued a detailed statement claiming a series of talks regarding a potential alliance among the three major factions of the Pakistani Taliban: TTP, HGB, and TLIP. The statement states that constructive discussions have been ongoing for the past week with the aim of "sustaining the armed struggle in Pakistan under a unified leadership." Statement further revealed that however the talks have temporarily halted now, and they are expected to resume in near future.
However, it is worth noticing that senior TTP members, when asked about the authenticity of the statement, argued that the latter had been published on a personal capacity by an individual, and not by the organisation, hence obscuring the organisations’s stance.
Furthermore, while some TTP members - such as a prominent propagandist and ideologue of the organisation - rejoiced of the possible merger, other militants, specifically some HGB affiliated members, expressed concern over the matter, arguing that there is no need of creating one sole organisation; rather, strategic cooperation between HGB and TTP was to be preferred. This created a some noise among TTP and HGB members, with the former arguing with the latter that unity among jihadist factions is a priority.
Hence, while the issue is still ongoing and militant factions are trying to remain silent over the discussion, some considerations can be made.
Over the course of 2023, there have been visible instances of cooperations between different Pakistani Taliban militant factions, such as HGB and TTP and TTP and Lashkar-e-Islam . This trend is continuing also during 2024. Furthermore, the TTP is set on a trajectory which sees itself as the main jihadist faction in Pakistan, with the intent of incorporating other factions. Since mid 2021, the TTP has merged 47 jihadist groups and subgroups from Pakistani Taliban, sectarian outfits, and Al-Qaida affiliates. In the recent past, Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud had also suggested to Al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) leader, Usama Mahmood, to disband the local branch of Al-Qaida and join hands with the TTP; a request which was rejected. Nevertheless, the TTP is trying to centralise the jihadist front under its leadership. This has also sparked some frictions with other jihadist parties; for instance, in early 2024, differences between TTP and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar became more visibile.
If the ongoing talks between HGB and TTP would succeed, this would further jeopardise the situation in South Khyber Pakhtnukhwa, while expanding the TTP base in the province posing new challenges to the security forces.
Great read!