haven’t seen the Taliban killing anyone or extorting traders in the last two months. The TTP militants have disappeared and the residents of Pashtun neighbourhoods are now feeling secure,” he added.
Commenting on the recent merger of Taliban factions, the tribal elder said the TTP was adopting such tactics just to hide the fact that they had been weakened now.
“There are differences between these factions over turf and leadership issues. They cannot work together.”
TTP factions
The TTP is not a monolith. There are four factions of the TTP operating in the city.
The TTP South Waziristan faction is led by Khan Said alias Sajna and mainly comprises Mehsud militants. The group has been operating independently after leaving the TTP in May last year.
Khan Zaman alias Goonga heads the group in Karachi but the law enforcement agencies, in the ongoing crackdown, have killed many of their key leaders and militants, forcing them to go into hiding or flee the city.
A source in the TTP South Wazirstan chapter said the key leaders of the faction killed in recent months included Abid Mucharr, Abid Chota, Zikria Mehsud, Mufti Javed, Khazan Gul, Zahidullah, Ubaidullah, Amir Zada and Khwajlak. Khan Zaman and Zawel are the only remaining important commanders of the faction in the city.
Another faction of the TTP Mehsud militants is led by Sheharyar Mehsud, who is the successor of Hakimullah Mehsud. Daud Mehsud, a former policeman in Karachi, heads the group in the city.
The group has been weakened in Karachi because of their infighting with militants of the TTP Sajna faction. Most of them have left the city.
The TTP Swat chapter is loyal to the organisation’s central chief, Maulana Fazlullah. In Karachi, their organisational set-up is very secretive and mainly involved in the killing of Awami National Party leaders and policemen in the West district.
The TTP Mohmand faction that renamed itself the TTP-JA after parting ways with the TTP last year is led by Abdul Wali alias Omar Khalid Khurasani. The group has been weakened because of the killing of their key leaders and supporters by the law enforcement agencies.
The Sajna-led group is not part of the recent reunification. The three others factions have agreed to work together in Karachi. However, the Bagh-led LI has no organisational set-up in the city.