Fragmentation: TTP splits over allegiance to IS

Spokesperson Shahidullah Shahid, five key commanders join Da’ish

MIRAMSHAH: Shahidullah Shahid, the spokesperson for Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the group that is now on the verge of disintegration, has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS), or Da’ish, which has been taken over large swathes of in Syria and Iraq.

In a video message issued to the media late Monday, Shahid claimed that five leading commanders of the TTP have also pledged loyalty with the group, also called Al Daulat Ul Khilafa Al Islamia. They include Hafiz Saeed Khan from Orakzai Agency, Hafeezullah from Kurram Agency, Fateh Gul Zaman from Khyber Agency, Mufti Hussain from Peshawar and Khalid Mansoor from Hangu.

Earlier another faction of the TTP, Jamaat Ul Ahrar, which is headed by Abdul Wali Mohmand, aka Khalid Khorasani, had offered to mediate between al Qaeda and IS as both the groups have been striving for what he called establishment of an Islamic caliphate throughout the world.

Shahid claimed that TTP chief Mullah Fazlullah was also supporting IS, though he hasn’t yet decided to join the group. So far neither Fazlullah nor any other top leader of the TTP has issued any reaction to Shahid’s statement.

Sheikh Mahboob, commonly known as Shahidullah Shahid, himself belongs to Orakzai Agency and has been associated with the TTP since its inception in late 2007.

He said that he had joined IS in Ramazan and conveyed his affiliation to ‘Khalifatul Muslimeen Abu Bakar al Baghdadi’ through a Jordanian militant, Abu Tasir al Urdani. “Another message was conveyed to al Baghdadi through Abu al Huda al Sudani and a third through Omar Abul Khitab al Shami,” Shahid said in the video.

Ironically, a few days back, Shahid had rejected TTP’s links with IS. Analysts believe Shahid’s decision is another blow to the TTP, which has spilt into several subgroups and factions in recent days.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 15^th, 2014.