The January/February 2010 issue of Nawai Afghan Jihad included an article by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan spokesman, Azam Tariq, entitled “The Reality of the Waziristan Operation.” Azam Tariq mainly talks about the recent military operation in Waziristan and the complicity of Pakistani politicians and special forces (SFs) in importing and waging America´s war on Pakistani territory. Like most TTP leaders, Azam underlines that theirs is a “defensive” jihad against the Pakistani regime.  The image created is that of a hapless group being provoked into fighting an unwanted jihad. That is, against its own volition, the TTP must fight the Pakistani state and army. While the cardinal enemy, and “target of all jihadi struggles”, is the U.S. for it sits at the helm of all infidel nations, Pakistan´s “secular rulers” and their shameless submissiveness to the U.S. has left the TTP no choice but to fight the “domestic” infidels first.  The question, then,

Blackwater and the Kerry-Lugar Bill appear to be recurrent themes in Urdu jihadi literature. Militant scribes are chipping in on the hot topics of mainstream Pakistani media, dangerously aligning their grievances with those of the public – specifically, the latter’s anti-US sentiments. While opinion may be torn on the use of military operations in Pakistan, Pakistanis from all walks of life appear united in perceiving the US as an enemy. A recent Gallup survey, for example, revealed that 59% of Pakistanis saw the US as the biggest threat to Pakistan. 11% thought the Taliban. The latest issue of the monthly Nawai Afghan Jihad has two articles on the Blackwater in Pakistan. In “Why this hullabaloo surrounding Blackwater?” by Talha Abu Bakar, the author argues that Blackwater has been active in Pakistan for years, and there is a reason for “letting this genie out of the bottle” at this point in

A growing number of news reports from Pakistan are voicing concern over the alleged presence of the controversial security contractor Blackwater (or Xe) in Pakistan. The latest online edition of banned Urdu newspaper Zarb-e-Momin (linked to the outlawed al-Rasheed Trust) also issued an article on this topic. After briefly outlining Blackwater’s history, columnist Aurya Maqbool Jan argues that the most shocking aspect of the firm is that it operates under the cover of NGOs and charity organizations in areas where Americans wish to carry military operations: “It asks a few educated individuals to engage in welfare activities in the area; while this facade is being maintained guerrilla-like soldiers sneak their way in.” In Pakistan, Jan claims, Blackwater headquarters are situated in the University Town area of Peshawar, and the NGO cover used by the firm is that of “Creative Associates,” an organization involved in development work in the tribal areas.

In my previous post we saw how Commander Hafizullah viewed the struggle of the Swati Taliban. Later in the video, he says some interesting things about how the militants acquire support, money and weapons. By feeding off the social and economic frustrations of the local populace in the tribal belt, the Swati militants may have managed to garner a certain amount of local support. For example, by taking over the Minogra emerald mine in Swat, the TTP offered the poor locals an income. Similarly, after seizing the Shamozai and Gujjar Killi mines, the Taliban employed a large number of local labourers. Speaking with a BBC Urdu journalist, a Taliban commander and caretaker of the mines said: “Every year the government would deceitfully claim that the mine business was suffering a loss and therefore nothing could be offered to the locals; whereas, in reality, all the profit was going in the

Since May this year the Pakistani Army has been engaged in fierce combat in the Swat valley against a branch of the Pakistani Taliban. Who are the rebels and what do they want? A recent urdu-language video by al-Sahab features an interview with a Pakistani Taliban commander named Hafizullah. It offers useful insights into the Tehrik-e-Taliban-Swat’s ideology. In this two-part post I will take a closer look at the interview. The video starts with a profile of Hafizullah: “Hafizullah hails from the Swat valley of Pakistan and has for the past 13 years been involved in the jihads in Afghanistan, Kashmir and now Pakistan. He received his early military training in 1996 Afghanistan, after which he fought with the Taliban on four different fronts – Kabul, Bagram, Bamyan, and Charykar. After the US invasion of Afghanistan, he was put exclusively in charge of the Bagram front. Previously affiliated with Pakistan’s