The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claims that the Pakistani state does not practice true Islam and therefore it can wage a legitimate Jihad against it.
Nazir Ahmad Mir replies: Pakistan has perennially faced domestic political crises and internal security challenges. In the ongoing political and economic crisis, politicians are entirely focused on safeguarding their personal and party interests. This is negatively impacting the economically weaker sections the most. To deal with the economic challenges, Islamabad has been seeking the help of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and ‘friendly countries’ like Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and China.
Given the ideological convergence the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has with the Taliban, the latter may not be able or willing to fulfil Pakistan’s demand that its activities be curbed.
This volume is a result of an abiding interest in the phenomenon of radical Islamist terror that haunts Pakistan today. The research questions that it seeks to answer are: Why do the tribal areas remain a problem for rulers and administrators throughout history? How and why did radical Islam embed itself in the terrain?
Was it influenced by the overall emphasis on Islam in Pakistani state politics? What is the role of history and politics in fuelling religious passions in the area? What has led to the survival of TTP despite humongous efforts of the Pakistan Army to decimate it? What are the future portents of such a movement? What impact is it likely to have on Pakistani society and politics?
The volume makes an attempt to understand the context in which Pakistani Taliban or TTP, as it is called now, came into being, the enabling factors that made the growth of TTP possible, the formation and growth of TTP as a militant organisation, its leadership and its activities over the years, its ideological orientation and its worldview, its aims and objectives, its relationship with other militant groups in and outside Pakistan and the efforts of the Pakistani establishment to come to terms with such a phenomenon. There is an attempt to analyse the process and study its implications for Pakistan and the region.
The relationship between TTP, or Pakistani Taliban, and Afghan Taliban will continue to be dictated by religious-ideological convergence, ethnic-fraternal linkages and the close camaraderie that emerged while they were fighting together against the foreign ‘occupying’ forces in Afghanistan.
Ashok Kumar Behuria replies: Disparate Taliban (plural) groups, operating inside Pakistan, came together towards the close of 2007 to form Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
TTP is a radical conglomerate, wedded to the idea of bringing Sharia rule to Pakistan. They are close to the Haqqani group, an important constituent of the Afghan Taliban. Haqqanis are known to be ideologically intolerant and Wahabi in their outlook.
If the Pakistan Army fails to conclusively eliminate the scourge in the north-west, it will soon reach Punjab, which has been relatively free of major incidents of violence.
The Peshawar school massacre does not appear to be a simple tit-for-tat game; it has an intricate link to the Afghan endgame in which Pakistan wants to be the victor.
TTP’s Political Violence and Jihad
The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claims that the Pakistani state does not practice true Islam and therefore it can wage a legitimate Jihad against it.