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TEHRIK-E-TALEBAN
(THE TALIBAN'S WAY)
 Tehrik-E-Taleban ((the Taliban movement), the Taliban branch in Pakistan, is an alliance of over 30 Islamic militant groups operating all over FATA and NWFP areas of North and West Pakistan. Each group is loyal to its warlord or a certain Maulana (religious preacher). All the groups incorporated in Tehrik-E-Taleban are Pashtus with close ties to the Pashtus in Afghanistan and with long lasting tradition of fighting vigorously any foreign power, whether it is the Soviet Union or the USA in Afghanistan or the Pakistani regime.
In fact Tehrik-E-Taleban is today (09/2008) the armed wing of the Pashtu people.
Tehrik-E-Taleban was formed in late 2007 by four prominent Pashtu leaders in FATA region: Baitullah Mehsud, the prominent war lord of South Waziristan; Maulana Faqir Mohammad, the leader of Bajaur district in Northern FATA region (see - Bajaur 08.10.08); the Swat District leader Maulana Fazlullah; the spokesman for the Taliban in Afghanistan Maulvi Omar and with the support of Jalaluddin Haqqani .
The Tehrik-E-Taleban was assembled after the Lal Mosque crisis of 06/2007. The degree that the Lal Mosque crisis had on the formation of Tehrik-E-Taleban is unclear, but it is evident that Islamic radicals in Pakistan and especially the Pashtu tribes regarded the Lal Mosque crisis as a declaration of war by the Pakistani regime against Islam. The Tehrik-E-Taleban was a way to encounter the Pakistani regime.
The main coordinated operation of the Tehrik-E-Taleban was the partial siege on Peshawar, the administrative capital of FATA region, in summer 2008. The siege was a response to the PAKISTANI ARMY Khyber offensive.
Today (09/2008) the degree of Tehrik-E-Taleban homogeneousness is unknown. Although prominent figures like Baitullah Mehsud are very influential, it is unclear whether other warlords obey him and coordinate their operations with a recognized leadership.
Giving the historic tribal conflicts, the tradition of independency and anarchy, the custom to switch sides from time to time for temporary convenience and the personal rivalry between the different warlords, the Tehrik-E-Taleban is more a name then a coherent functioning organization with recognized leadership, a chain of command and, at the end, common political objectives.
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30/09/2008 06:41:18
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