Journalism of Courage
Noor Wali Mehsud, the leader of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has emerged as the most feared figure behind the recent surge in deadly attacks on Pakistani soil. Operating from Afghanistan, Mehsud has rebuilt and united the militant group, transforming it into a disciplined and ideologically driven force. His presence across the border has become the central point of tension between Pakistan and Afghanistan, even as a fragile ceasefire holds in the wake of the fiercest clashes between the neighbours in decades.
An uneasy ceasefire took hold on Wednesday after renewed fighting killed and wounded dozens along the southeastern Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Pakistan’s main grievance remains Mehsud’s presence in Afghanistan, along with his top lieutenants. Last week, an airstrike in Kabul reportedly targeted an armoured Toyota Land Cruiser believed to be carrying Mehsud. Both militants and Pakistani officials suggest he likely survived, with the group releasing an audio message purportedly from him. Reuters noted that Pakistan has not officially claimed the airstrike.
The Afghan Taliban denies sheltering Pakistani militants and, in turn, accuses Islamabad of supporting the local branch of the Islamic State group, which remains the Taliban’s main armed rival, according to Reuters.
Mehsud assumed leadership of the TTP in 2018 after a string of US drone strikes killed his three predecessors. By then, Pakistani military operations had largely driven the group out of its traditional strongholds and into Afghanistan.
Under Mehsud’s leadership, the TTP has revived its operational capabilities, unified fragmented factions, and developed a strategic, ideologically motivated approach to militancy, Reuters reported. A trained religious scholar, Mehsud has also waged an ideological battle, portraying himself as a defender of Pashtun rights and criticising Pakistan’s military leadership.
The Taliban’s 2021 takeover of Afghanistan gave the TTP freer movement and increased access to weapons, Islamabad claims. Attacks inside Pakistan have escalated, particularly in the northwest bordering Afghanistan. Unlike the group’s previous assaults, which included civilian targets such as mosques and schools—including a 2014 school attack that killed over 130 children—Mehsud has reportedly directed the TTP to target only military and police personnel.
In a rare video speech earlier this year, Mehsud, as per Reuters, criticised Pakistan’s army, accusing it of hijacking the country for decades and portraying it as anti-Islam.
Mehsud fuses religious justification with a nationalist agenda. He has authored at least three books, including a 700-page treatise tracing the TTP’s insurgency to resistance against British colonial rule. Experts as quoted by Reuters, say Mehsud positions himself as a voice for the Pashtun ethnic group, which spans northwest Pakistan and Afghanistan—the latter largely under Taliban control.
“Mehsud continues his efforts to reshape the group into an armed movement fighting, as he claims, for the rights of Pashtun tribespeople,” said Abdul Sayed, an independent analyst on regional militancy, Reuters reported. “He envisions a governance system in Pakistan akin to that of the Afghan Taliban.”
Despite this, the TTP enjoys little public support within Pakistan. In recent unofficial talks mediated through tribal intermediaries, the militants demanded the imposition of their interpretation of Islamic law in border regions, the withdrawal of Pakistan’s army, and their return to former strongholds—requests that authorities rejected, according to Reuters.
The ongoing ceasefire between Pakistan and Afghanistan, brokered after the most serious clashes between the neighbours in decades, remains tenuous. The main flashpoint is Mehsud himself, whose leadership continues to drive insurgent operations from Afghan territory. Both sides remain wary, with accusations of cross-border provocations and unresolved grievances heightening tensions along the border, Reuters reported.
