The United States designated the Pakistani Taliban a terrorist organization in September 2010. The Pakistani Taliban, formally known as
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, is a loose and increasingly divided organization that once represented roughly 30 groups of militants. The group
was officially founded in 2007 by a prominent jihadi commander, Baitullah
Mehsud, and for years it and allied groups like al-Qaida have been based in the
Pashtun tribal areas in northwestern Pakistan, particularly in North and South
Waziristan. Many Pakistani Taliban commanders fought in
Afghanistan as part of the movement that swept to power in Kabul. When US
forces ousted that movement in 2001, many of its leaders fled across the border
into Pakistan.
Attacked on military school in Peshawar - Taliban attacked a
military-run school in Peshawar on Tuesday,killing 124 kids among 132
dead, 245 injured, because they wanted revenge for the Pakistanimilitary.
Attack on Karachi international airport - One of their most significant attacks in 2014
was an audacious siege of the Karachi international airport in June. The
attack, in which a group of 10 attackers fought security forces for hours and
killed 13 people, represented the final straw for Pakistan's military.
Attack on Saints Church in Peshawar - In September 2013, the Pakistani Taliban unleashed one of their deadliest attacks ever, sending suicide bombers to the historic All Saints Church in Peshawar, a symbol of cooperation between Muslims and Christians. All told, at least 120 people died in the attack and its aftermath, which refocused attention on the Taliban's persecution of religious minorities. The attack was ordered even as the Pakistani government and Taliban leaders were exploring peace talks.
Attack on Saints Church in Peshawar - In September 2013, the Pakistani Taliban unleashed one of their deadliest attacks ever, sending suicide bombers to the historic All Saints Church in Peshawar, a symbol of cooperation between Muslims and Christians. All told, at least 120 people died in the attack and its aftermath, which refocused attention on the Taliban's persecution of religious minorities. The attack was ordered even as the Pakistani government and Taliban leaders were exploring peace talks.
Shot Malala Yousafzai - In 2012, the Pakistani Taliban shot Malala
Yousafzai, a Pakistani schoolgirl in the Swat Valley, for advocating the
education of girls. Yousafzai went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 and
has become a worldwide symbol of the group's indiscriminate violence and
subjugation of women and girls. She and her family live in England, in part
because the Pakistani Taliban have vowed to attack her again.
Bomb blasts on Marriott Hotel in Islamabad- The Pakistani Taliban were also behind fatal bomb blasts on softer targets like the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad in September 2008 and the Pearl Continental Hotel in Peshawar in 2009.
Bomb blasts on Marriott Hotel in Islamabad- The Pakistani Taliban were also behind fatal bomb blasts on softer targets like the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad in September 2008 and the Pearl Continental Hotel in Peshawar in 2009.
Benazir Bhutto Murder- Baitullah Mehsud is also thought to have been behind the suicide bombing that killed former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in December 2007.
Current Pakistani Taliban's leadership
The Pakistani Taliban group is now nominally
led by Maulana Fazlullah, a jihadi leader thought to be in hiding on the Afghan
side of the border. But the organization has been under pressure from a
military offensive in North Waziristan since June 2014, and the main group has
suffered at least two major commander dead, & rival leadership factions have differed over the group's direction.
Yet Fazlullah was seen as a possible peacemaker within Pakistan's militant firmament when he was chosen to lead the Taliban after the previous leader, Hakimullah Mehsud, was killed in a US airstrike in November 2013. Mehsud was the Taliban's most favourite leader. He was a close to Pakistani Taliban's founder, Baitullah Mehsud. He rose to supreme leadership after a US drone strike killed Baitullah Mehsud in August 2009.
Yet Fazlullah was seen as a possible peacemaker within Pakistan's militant firmament when he was chosen to lead the Taliban after the previous leader, Hakimullah Mehsud, was killed in a US airstrike in November 2013. Mehsud was the Taliban's most favourite leader. He was a close to Pakistani Taliban's founder, Baitullah Mehsud. He rose to supreme leadership after a US drone strike killed Baitullah Mehsud in August 2009.
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