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Militant Pakistan Taliban Brings Splinters Back Into Its Fold

Ayaz Gul

   ISLAMABAD - An alliance of militant groups waging attacks in Pakistan
   has said several breakaway and new factions have rejoined its ranksin
   an effort toconsolidate their violent campaign, amove criticswarned
   could threaten the country's counterterrorism gains.
   TheTehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), commonly referred to as the
   Pakistani Taliban, announced on Monday that its leadership has been
   working to bring all militant groups into their fold to wage their
   campaign from a united front instead of fighting individually to
   dislodge what it condemned as an "un-Islamic system" in the country.
   The alliance said in a statement that negotiations with leaders of two
   splinter groups,Jamat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) and Hizb-ul-Ahrar (HuA), persuaded
   them this week to pledge allegiance to the TTP chief, Mufti Abu Mansour
   Asim , also known as Noor Wali Mehsud. It released pictures of the
   purported ceremony but did not disclose the location.
   Pakistani military officials have long maintained militants linked to
   TTP have established bases in border areas of Afghanistan after fleeing
   years of sustained security operations in Pakistan.
   The United States has designated both the TTP and the JuA as global
   terrorist organizations for carrying out attacks against American
   interests and for their ties totheal-Qaida network.
   The JuA, which broke from TTP in 2014 and is also believed to be
   operating out of Afghanistan, has taken responsibility for major
   attacks in Pakistan.They include the 2016 suicide bombing of a crowd of
   Christians celebrating Easter in a park in the eastern city of Lahore.
   The blast killed more than 70 people.

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