Hafiz Gul Bahadur: Pashtun Militant Fostering Jihadist Factional Unity Along Pakistan’s Durand Line
Hafiz Gul Bahadur: Pashtun Militant Fostering Jihadist Factional Unity Along Pakistan’s Durand Line
Executive Summary:- Hafiz Gul Bahadur is a Pakistani militant who has been active in the region since 9/11. Bahadur has a network of affiliates, called the “Hafiz Gul Bahadur group,” which has been involved in a series of attacks on Pakistani forces over the past several years.
- Bahadur’s group is believed to be operating out of Afghanistan and is currently aligned with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and the Haqqani Network. However, Bahadur’s group maintained good relations with the Pakistani government in the past, to the extent that he was referred to as “the good Taliban” for only targeting American forces in Afghanistan.
Hafiz Gul Bahadur has been a recurring name in Afghanistan and Pakistan’s jihadist landscape, especially since the Afghan Taliban capture of Kabul in August 2021 (covered previously in Terrorism Monitor, April 10, 2009). Bahadur’s affiliates, operating through the “Hafiz Gul Bahadur group,” have been responsible for numerous attacks on Pakistani citizens and security forces, while Bahadur has proved himself an important player in the complex web of different jihadist organizations operating in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and across the border in Afghanistan. Over time, Bahadur has at one time or another aligned or maintained positive relations with the Pakistani state, al-Qaeda, and the Haqqani Network, as well as both the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban. After getting swept up in a Pakistani counterinsurgency operation in 2014, Bahadur fully aligned with jihadist elements and relocated to Afghanistan. From there, Bahadur has used his extensive connections to launch attacks across the border into Pakistan, prompting the country’s National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) to add the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group to its list of terror organizations on July 25, 2024 (Radio Mashaal, August 1, 2024). Bahadur’s Affiliations Bahadur and his group have maintained contacts with other terror groups, such as al-Qaeda, the Haqqani Network, and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), despite maintaining separate identities. Bahadur himself was a crucial middleman in the region’s militant landscape. Upon the formation of the TTP in December 2007, Bahadur was announced as its senior naib (deputy) emir (GlobalSecurity.org). Bahadur has also maintained a close alliance with Sirajuddin Haqqani, providing him with sanctuary in North Waziristan. Likewise, Bahadur has ties with Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F), one of the major Islamist political parties of Pakistan (Afghan Bios, March 21, 2024). Before 2014, Bahadur also founded a militant group called Shura Mujahideen-e-Waziristan (The Friday Times [Pakistan], December 13, 2023). Several jihadist commanders also pledged allegiance to or become affiliates of Bahadur’s group, including Akhtar Muhammad Khalil, commander of Majlis-e-Askari (X/@zarrar_11PK, April 1, 2024); Ali Dawar, commander of Jaish-e-Omari, Khalid Waziristani; commander of Jaish Fursan Muhammad; and Amir Sufiyan, who leads the Sufiyan Karwan (The Khorasan Diary, March 24, 2024). Bahadur’s Background Bahadur hails from near the Afghan border, specifically the Madda Khel tribal area in the North Waziristan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province in northwest Pakistan (Afghan Bios, March 21, 2024). He received his religious education from Madrasa Darul Uloom Nizamiya Eidak, which is located in the Mir Ali area of the North Waziristan District. After this, he became the finance secretary of the JUI-F students’ organization and later its press secretary (Voice of America Urdu, December 2, 2023). Bahadur also belongs to the Uthmanzai Wazir tribe of North Waziristan and is a descendant of the Faqir of Ipi (Mirza Ali Khan). Khan is a legendary figure known for his resistance against British occupation in the 1930s and 1940s (see Terrorism Monitor, April 10, 2009; The Express Tribune [Pakistan], August 22, 2011). Bahadur After 9/11 Bahadur established closer ideological ties with the Afghan Taliban after 9/11 and the subsequent War on Terror in Afghanistan. Despite positive relations with militants of the Haqqani Network and al-Qaeda, Bahadur did not align with them against the Pakistani government when cells of those groups crept into the Waziristan area of Pakistan. This was presumably due to a peace deal previously signed between his forces and the Pakistani government in 2007 (The Express Tribune [Pakistan], August 22, 2011). Bahadur’s close relationship with these groups was evidenced by his extending both shelter and support to members of the Haqqani Network and Arab members of al-Qaeda after 9/11 (The Friday Times [Pakistan], December 13, 2023). This enabled the rise of the “Tora Shpa,” or the “Black Night Death Squad,” a Taliban sub-unit which terrorized local villages (Reuters, August 29, 2013; The News International [Pakistan], May 29, 2017). In 2009, a short-lived alliance was formed under the banner of “Shura Ittehad-i-Mujahideen,” which included al-Qaeda, Baitullah Mehsud’s large TTP chapter, Mullah Maulvi Nazir’s smaller faction, and Bahadur’s group. This shura council pledged loyalty to the head of the Afghan Taliban, Supreme Leader Mullah Omar, and promised to focus on attacking American troops in Afghanistan rather than the Pakistani military (Center for American Progress, July 22, 2009). However, disagreements eventually led to Bahadur and Mullah Nazir’s departure from the alliance. Bahadur’s Realignment Toward the TTP Bahadur’s militants fled to Khost in Afghanistan after Pakistani security forces launched Operation Zarb-e-Azb in North Waziristan in 2014. Zarb-e-Azb targeted all jihadist groups equally, including Bahadur’s group. Before this, Bahadur had even been regarded at times as an ally of the Pakistan Army, and was often referred to as the “good Taliban” (The Friday Times [Pakistan], July 13, 2023). Once in Afghanistan, Bahadur’s ties with the TTP and al-Qaeda strengthened (Voice of America Urdu, December 2, 2023). These ties became more important following the withdrawal of U.S. forces in August 2021. Following this, Bahadur was better able to obtain “safe havens in Afghanistan, additional manpower, financial resources, and even advanced weaponry left behind by U.S. forces” with the help of Haqqani Network (Dawn, March 21, 2024). This expanding set of capabilities has resulted in an increase in the number of operations since 2021, including suicide bombings carried out against Pakistani security forces, for which Bahadur’s group has claimed responsibility (Strafasia, September 10, 2024). Most recently, Bahadur’s group is believed to have carried out several high-profile attacks on Pakistani security forces independently from the TTP. Bahadur’s group used a number of different names in these attacks, including Da Ghazyano Karwan, Da Sufiyano Karawan, Jaish Fursan Muhammad, Jabhat Ansar al-Mahdi Khorasan, Ittehad Mujahideen Khorasan, Majlis-e-Askari, Jaish-e-Omari, and Jabhat al-Junood al-Mahdi (Dawn, March 21, 2024; The Khorasan Diary, March 24, 2024). The attacks themselves include the November 26, 2023 suicide bombing in Baka Khel area of Bannu District, the March 16, 2024 suicide bombing in North Waziristan District, and the August 31, 2024 suicide attack on a military convoy in Bannu’s Jani Khel area (Dawn, March 21, 2024). After the November 2023 Baka Khel attack, Pakistan urged Afghanistan to hand over Bahadur, who, according to Pakistani authorities, is residing in the southern part of Afghanistan (The Khorasan Diary, March 24, 2024). The failure to do so finally prompted the NACTA to declare Bahadur’s group a terrorist organization, as previously mentioned (Radio Mashaal, August 1, 2024). Conclusion Famous as a skilled strategist, Bahadur delicately balanced the objectives and sensitivities of the Haqqani Network, Pakistani security forces, the TTP, and al-Qaeda. His membership in the Waziri tribe, whose lands straddle the Durand Line, further enabled him to mobilize militants on each side of the border (The Friday Times [Pakistan], December 13, 2023). Bahadur’s combination of political shrewdness and charisma, combined with his weaponization of cross-border Pashtun ties, provided him a strong foundation for acquiring power and launching attacks in Pakistan. In recent years, Bahadur has been expanding his number of local affiliates. In October 2023, Commander Ismail Shaheen, head of the Asmatullah Shaheen Bhittani group, swore loyalty to him (The Khorasan Diary, March 24, 2024). More recently, a group from the Khyber tribal district headed by Tariq Afridi pledged allegiance to Bahadur on February 20, 2024. On March 8, 2024, several commanders from the Jani Khel, Shewa, Mamand Khel, Aba Khel, Mada Khel, and Razmak areas of North Waziristan also pledged loyalty to him (The Khorasan Diary, March 24, 2024). The ongoing merger of these factions and the attacks orchestrated by the Hafiz Bahadur group will have serious consequences for peace and stability in the tribal areas. The presence of the Taliban government in Afghanistan is also working as a catalyst for militant organizations operating in majority Pashtun areas, which have trained their sights on the Pakistani government and local security forces. Bahadur is but one militant leader at the forefront of this new trend—and one to be especially watchful of, given his seniority and the respect accorded to him for his competence among other Pakistani jihadists.
