An internal conflict is brewing within the ranks of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) following the killing of a kidnapped trader in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The incident has exposed deep cracks within the group and sparked a public war of words, showing the level of internal dissent among its ranks.
Sher Muhammad Afridi, a well-known trader from Khyber district, was abducted several days ago by members of the TTP’s Jamaat-ul-Ahrar faction on suspicion of spying or involvement in the death of TTP Commander Qari Ismail, a shadow governor in Khyber who was killed by security forces.
Qari Ismail was a senior ranking Commander of JuA faction of the TTP.
However, according to the statement issued by the TTP late last night, Afridi was declared innocent by the TTP Central leadership after reviewing evidence presented to them by their local fighters. As per TTP sources, a least 18 senior religious scholars of the organization have abdicated Afridi from involvement in the killing of Qari Ismail.
Despite this, he was executed on Tuesday by the members of JuA faction violating TTP Central’s decision.
This killing has triggered a strong reaction from the TTP leadership, who issued a statement condemning the act and vowing to hold the responsible JuA fighters accountable. The statement emphasized that Afridi’s innocence had been established.
Another prominent faction of Pakistani Taliban Lashkar-e-Islam has issued a statement distancing itself from the killing of Sher Muhammad Afridi in a statement.
“Our fight is only confined to security forces not general public,” the statement says.
This condemnation has been met with fierce criticism from the JuA faction. In an audio clip shared with journalists , JuA’s senior leader Sarbakaf Mohmmand has openly challenged the TTP leadership, accusing them of being detached from the realities on the ground, compromised and making selective decisions.
They maintain that Afridi was a spy and that they had the right to determine his fate, further accusing the leadership of a lack of understanding of the ground situation. The JuA leader not only openly voiced negative opinions against the TTP leadership, but also threatened to revolt.
In the past, JuA blamed TTP chief Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud of killing of their slain leader, Omar Khalid Khorasani. A statement issued by JuA member Asad Mansoor made a series of accusations against Noor Wali Mehsud, which also included demoting the current leader of JuA Omar Mukarram Khorasani and Sarbakaf Mohmand in order to silence their requests to investigate the death of Omar Khalid Khorasani, occurred in August 2022 in Barmal, Paktika province of Afghanistan. Asad Mansoor also accuses Noor Wali Mehsud of conspiring against Hakimullah Mehsud the same way he did with Omar Khalid Khorasani.
The callous disregard for human life displayed in Afridi’s kidnapping and execution, along with the escalating internal conflict, paints a picture of a group increasingly focused on extortion, kidnapping, and internal power struggles rather than any coherent ideological goal. The internal conflict in the group has the potential to fuel in fighting within the group.
