NEFA Foundation: Four-Part Package Examines Competing Voices Within the Taliban Leadership in Pakistan

By Evan Kohlmann

The NEFA Foundation has released a four-part package by NEFA Senior Investigator Claudio Franco (with reporting by Javed Afridi) comprised of:

1.) An analysis titled, "Inside the Mufti Kifayatullah Interview: Competing Voices Within the Taliban Leadership in Pakistan";
2.) A profile of Waliur Rehman (Emir of Mehsud Taliban in South Waziristan Agency);
3.) An exclusive interview with Mufti Kifayatullah (spokesman for the Jemaat-e-Ulema Pakistan-Fazlur in the NWFP);
4.) An exclusive interview with Said Alam Mehsud, a Pashtun nationalist leader widely considered a reliable observer of Mehsud tribal politics.

The interviews are focused on the rivalry between Hakimullah Mehsud and Waliur Rehman, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan commanders who aspire to succeed Baitullah Mehsud, and provide a valuable perspective on the ongoing tussle between Taliban powerbrokers in Pakistan's tribal areas. Dr. Mehsud suggests Al-Qaida's role in the FATA would still be critically important, with the its Arab fighters backing Waliur Rehman and the Uzbek faction in support of Hakimullah's bid for the leadership. A pivotal role is also played by the so-called 'Punjabi Taliban', Sunni sectarian fighters hailing mainly from southern Punjab and affiliated to, or inspired by, SIpah-e-Sahaba, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, and Jaish-e-Mohammed. In this context, the role of mainstream religious parties such as the Jemaat-e-Ulema Pakistan-Fazlur, cannot be neglected, as they emerge as the only mainstream/institutional actor capable of influencing, and reigning in, the Pakistani Taliban movement.

The four documents can be accessed on the NEFA Foundation website.