Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. Overview

Sources describe Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) [also known as Tehrik-e Taliban, Pakistani Taliban, Pakistan Taliban, Tehreek-e-Taliban, Tehrik-e-Taliban and Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan] as "an alliance of militant groups" (US 2014); "a coalition" of militant and extremist groups (The Guardian 9 June 2014a; CFR 18 Nov. 2013); and "an umbrella organization" uniting militant groups (The New York Times 2 Nov. 2013; TRAC n.d.). According to sources, TTP was formed when various militias coalesced in 2007 (US 2014; CFR 18 Nov. 2013; The New York Times 2 Nov. 2013).

Sources indicate that TTP has close links to Al-Qaeda (US 2014; CNN 17 Oct. 2012), as well as to the Afghanistan Taliban (ibid.). The BBC similarly reports that the organization has "roots in the Afghan Taliban" (BBC 9 June 2014). According to the US Department of State's Country Reports on Terrorism 2012,

TTP draws ideological guidance from AQ [Al-Qaeda], while AQ relies on TTP for safe haven in the Pashtun areas along the Afghan-Pakistani border. This arrangement gives TTP access to both AQ's global terrorist network and the operational experience of its members. (US 30 May 2013)

The same source states that "TTP is believed to raise most of its funds through kidnapping for ransom and operations that target Afghanistan-bound military transport trucks for robbery" (ibid.).

2. Areas of Operations and Structure

According to sources, TTP is based in the tribal areas along the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan (The Guardian 9 June 2014a; The New York Times 2 Nov. 2013; US 30 May 2013). The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), an independent nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher (CFR n.d.), reports that membership in the group is "predominantly Pashtun" (CFR 18 Nov. 2013). Sources indicate that members of the group originate from all seven tribal agencies in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), as well as many districts of the northwest province of Khyber Pakhtunkhawa (ibid.; SATP [2014]). The New York Times specifies that TTP's headquarters is in North and South Waziristan (The New York Times 2 Nov. 2013). However, sources note that TTP has also expanded into other areas of the country (SATP [2014]; CNN 17 Oct. 2012). According to CNN, "they maintain loose factions spread out as far as Punjab province" (ibid.).

Sources indicate that TTP was initially formed by approximately 13 groups (SATP [2014]; CFR 18 Nov. 2013). The New York Times reports that as of November 2013, TTP was composed of up to 30 "loosely uniting" groups (2 Nov. 2013). The Country Reports on Terrorism 2012 states that TTP is composed of "several thousand" militants (US 30 May 2013). However, the CFR emphasizes the difficulty of assessing the size of TTP, quoting a researcher at the Combating Terrorism Center, "an independent research institution based at the US Military Academy" as saying: "there are not reliable estimates of how large the TTP is, largely due to challenges associated with even defining the borders of the group and the loose-knit nature of how it is organized along either subtribal or subregional lines" (CFR 18 Nov. 2013).

TTP was formally founded by Baitullah Mehsud [also written Mahsud] (The New York Times 2 Nov. 2013; US 30 May 2013). Baitullah Mehsud was reportedly killed in 2009 (US 2014; CFR 18 Nov. 2013; CNN 17 Oct. 2012) in an American drone attack (ibid.; CFR 18 Nov. 2013). Since 2009, the group was led by Hakimullah Mehsud [cousin of Baitullah Mehsud] (US 30 May 2013; BBC 2 Nov. 2013). Sources report that Hakimullah Mehsud was killed in an American drone attack in November 2013 (ibid.; The Guardian June 2014b). In November 2013, Mullah Fazlullah was chosen as Hakimullah Mehsud's successor (The News International 29 May 2014; CFR 18 Nov. 2013). However, the CFR notes that analysts have questioned whether TTP's cohesion could be maintained under Fazlullah, as he is the first TTP leader from outside the Mehsud tribe (ibid.).

The Guardian escribes TTP as "fractious" and "fracture-prone" (The Guardian 9 June 2014a). CNN explains that "[a]s a result of its beginnings, Tehrik-i-Taliban are not a unified fighting force," adding that the militant groups which comprise TTP "control different regions within the tribal area and often have different agendas and political objectives. The factions don't always speak with one voice" (CNN 17 Oct. 2012).

Sources report that in May 2014, TTP experienced a significant schism (BBC 9 June 2014; The Telegraph 28 May 2014; The Guardian 9 June 2014a). The Guardian describes the split as the "biggest schism yet" (ibid.). According to the Guardian, one cause of the division was "faltering peace talks between the movement and the Pakistan government" (ibid.).

3. Objectives

Sources indicate that TTP targets the Pakistani state (ibid.; CFR 18 Nov. 2013; CNN 17 Oct. 2012). Sources also report that TTP targets the Pakistani state particularly through its military (ibid.; US 2014). According to the US National Counterterrorism Center, TTP "leaders hope to impose a strict interpretation of Qur'anic instruction throughout Pakistan" (US 2014). Sources report that TTP seeks to enforce sharia law (CFR 18 Nov. 2013; CNN 17 Oct. 2012). According to CNN, TTP is also partially driven by anti-American sentiment and attacks foreign interests in and outside of Pakistan due to the country's alliance with other countries (CNN 17 Oct. 2012). In particular, TTP fights against foreign troops in Afghanistan (CFR 18 Nov. 2013; US 2014).

4. Militant Activities and Targets

Sources indicate that TPP attacks both security forces and civilians (AI 2013; CFR 18 Nov. 2013; CNN 17 Oct. 2012). According to the New York Times, "thousands of people" have been killed by TTP in recent years, mostly through suicide bombings (The New York Times 1 Nov. 2013). The BBC similarly states that "collectively they [TTP] are responsible for the deaths of thousands of Pakistanis" (BBC 9 June 2014). Amnesty International (AI) states that TTP carries out "indiscriminate attacks using improvised explosive devices and suicide bombs" (AI 2013). CNN states that TTP has "killed civilians for political and religious reasons" (CNN 17 Oct. 2012). AI adds that TTP's targets include "members of religious minorities, aid workers, activists and journalists" (AI 2013)

In June 2014, TTP gunmen attacked the Karachi airport leading to the death of 28 people, including the gunmen (IHS 8 June 2014; The Guardian 9 June 2014b). The Guardian states that "the six-hour assault on the airport of Pakistan's economic hub is one of the most serious attacks the country has suffered for years" (ibid.).

The US Country Reports on Terrorism 2012 provides an overview of major attacks undertaken by TTP in recent years:

Attacks in 2011 included: a March bombing at a gas station in Faisalabad that killed 31 people; an April double suicide bombing at a Sufi shrine in Dera Ghazi Khan that left more than 50 dead; a May bombing of an American consulate convoy in Peshawar that killed one person and injured 12; a May siege of a naval base in Karachi; and a September attack against a school bus that killed four children and the bus driver.

...

In March [2012], a suicide bomber struck at a mosque in Khyber Agency, and killed over a dozen people while injuring approximately 10 others. In May, an attack in the Bajaur tribal region killed 24 people when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives at a police checkpoint near a crowded market. In August, TTP stormed a Pakistani Air Force base in Kamra; five Pakistani soldiers were killed in the ensuing firefight. Also in August, TTP militants pulled 22 Shia Muslims off busses in the remote Pakistani district of Manshera before shooting them dead. (US 30 May 2013)

Sources also indicate that TTP claimed responsibility for a failed bomb attack in New York City's Times Square in May 2010 (US 2014; CNN 17 Oct. 2012; CFR 18 Nov. 2013). The CFR states that among TTP's "most audacious attacks have been bombings of Islamabad's Marriott Hotel in September 2008, which killed at least sixty people, and Peshawar's Pearl Continental Hotel in June 2009, in which seventeen were killed" (ibid.). According to the Guardian," the group also carried out a raid on Pakistan's military headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi in 2009, leaving 23 dead, including 11 service personnel and three hostages" ( 9 June 2014b).

According to AI, TTP "announced a ban on health workers in the tribal areas until the USA ceased its programme of 'targeted killing' there" (AI 2013). Health workers have also been targeted by TTP: for example, nine medical personnel administrating polio vaccinations were killed in Peshawar, Nowshera and Charsadda in the northwest and in Karachi in December 2013 (ibid.). AI also reports that a "ICRC [International Committee of the Red Cross] nurse was killed in April [2013]" (ibid.).

In 2009, TTP forbade girls from attending school (CNN 17 Oct. 2012). In October 2012, TTP attempted to assassinate Malala Yousafzai, a then 14-year-old girl who had defended the right to education for women and girls (ibid.; AI 2013).

5. State Response

The CFR states that "Pakistani security forces have at times struggled to muster the capacity and will to confront domestic militants, even though the army and police are increasingly targeted by militant groups" (CFR 18 Nov. 2013). Still, the Guardian states that attacks such as the one against the Karachi airport exposes the government of Pakistan's "continuing inability to keep the country's population ... and key transport infrastructure safe" (The Guardian 9 June 2014a). The Washington Post similarly states that the attack against the Karachi airport, which is described as "one of the most fortified places in the city" serves to underscore "the larger insecurity gripping the country" (9 June 2014). According to the New York Times, TTP "has drawn the Pakistani Army into a grinding conflict in the tribal belt, and it has destabilized the rest of the country through a relentless campaign of violence" (1 Nov. 2013). According to a researcher at IHS Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Centre cited by CNN, "'[t]ribal areas have for decades now been a no-go area for the Pakistani state'"; the researcher added that "security forces have not been able to establish a consistent presence there. They are left launching sporadic missions and then withdrawing" (CNN 17 Oct. 2012). In particular, according to IHS Jane's Defence Weekly, "US officials have for years asked Pakistan to launch a military campaign in North Waziristan, saying it is dotted with safe havens used by Taliban militants" "" (IHS 25 June 2014). In November 2013, the CFR wrote the following:

The CIA has conducted an extensive targeted killing campaign to supplement Pakistani counterterrorism efforts, particularly in the rugged, remote terrain of North and South Waziristan. U.S. drones are currently launched from Afghan soil, but it's unclear whether this arrangement will continue after the scheduled U.S. withdrawal in 2014. (CFR 18 Nov. 2013)

On 29 May 2014, the Associated Press also reported that US drones were "flying regularly" over Pakistan's tribal areas, but that no missiles had been fired since December 2013. However, the Guardian reported on 12 June 2014 that the US drone strike campaign in northwestern Pakistan resumed after a nearly six-month break, resulting in the deaths of 13 suspected militants (The Guardian with AP 12 June 2014).

In June 2014, the Pakistan government launched an assault against Taliban targets [more specifically against TTP, according to the Guardian (9 June 2014b)] in North Waziristan (IHS 25 June 2014; BBC 22 June 2014; The Guardian 9 June 2014b). According to a senior Pakistani intelligence official interviewed by IHS Jane's, at least 400 militants have been killed by the Pakistani Army in the first 10 days of the campaign (25 June 2014). Media sources indicate that over 300,000 people have been displaced by the offensive (AFP 21 June 2014; BBC 22 June 2014).

5.1 Reports of Human Rights Violations by Pakistani Security Forces Within the Context of Counterterrorism Activities

The CFR states that international human rights organizations have accused Pakistani security forces of committing human rights abuses within the context of their counterterrorism activities, including "torture, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention of tribal area residents, and the enforced disappearance of 'journalists, human rights activists, and alleged members of separatist and nationalist groups'" (18 Nov. 2013).

The US Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2013 similarly mentions reports of abuses by security forces, including the torture and abuse of individuals in custody (US 27 Feb. 2014, 23), extrajudicial killings (ibid., 2) and disappearances related to the conflicts in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (ibid., 5).

However, Country Reports 2013 adds that

[p]oor security, intimidation by security forces and militants, and the control that the government and security forces exercised over access by nonresidents to FATA made it difficult for human rights organizations and journalists to report on military abuses in the region (ibid., 23)

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Agence France-Presse (AFP). 21 June 2014. "Pakistan Choppers Pound Militants as Civilian Exodus Grows." [Accessed 27 June 2014]

Amnesty International (AI). 2013. "Pakistan." Amnesty International Report 2013: The State of the World's Human Rights. [Accessed 26 June 2014]

The Associated Press (AP). 29 May 2014. "CIA Drone Killing Program in Pakistan Winding Down." [Accessed 2 July 2014]

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). 22 June 2014."Pakistan Army Waziristan Offensive: 350,000 Displaced." [Accessed 27 June 2014]

_____. 9 June 2014. M Ilyas Khan. "Pakistan Taliban Still Deadly Despite Split." [Accessed 24 June 2014]

_____. 2 November 2013. "Hakimullah Mehsud Killed by Drone, Pakistan Taliban Say." [Accessed 24 June 2014]

Cable News Network (CNN). 17 October 2012. Ben Brumfield. "Who Are the Pakistani Taliban?" [Accessed 24 June 2014]

Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). 18 November 2013. Zachary Laub. "Pakistan's New Generation of Terrorists." [Accessed 27 June 2014]

_____. N.d. "About CFR." [Accessed 2 July 2014]

The Guardian. 9 June 2014a. Jason Burke."Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan Asserts Itself After Split by Attacking Karachi Airport." [Accessed 24 June 2014]

_____. 9 June 2014b. Jon Boone."Pakistani Taliban Claim Karachi Attack and Leave Peace Talks in Crisis." [Accessed 24 June 2014]

The Guardian with AP. 12 June 2014. "Pakistan: 13 Killed as US Resumes Drone Strike Campaign." [Accessed 2 July 2014]

IHS. 25 June 2014. Farhan Bokhari. "Pakistan Army Launches North Waziristan Offensive." Jane's Defence Weekly. [Accessed 27 June 2014]

_____. 8 June 2014. "Karachi Airport Attack Indicates Pakistan Taliban Will Expand Targets to Include Industrial And Aviation Assets Over Next Six Months." Jane's Intelligence Weekly. [Accessed 27 June 2014]

The New York Times. 2 November 2013. Carlotta Gall and Declan Walsh. "How the Pakistani Taliban Became a Deadly Force." [Accessed 23 June 2014]

_____. 1 November 2013. Declan Walsh, Ihsanullah Tipu Mehsud and Ismael Khan. "Drone Strikes Are Said to Kill Taliban Chief." [Accessed 23 June 2014]

The News International. 29 May 2014. Amir Mir. "Split in TTP a Major Blow to Mullah Fazlullah." [Accessed 27 June 2014]

South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP). [2014]. "Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)." [Accessed 26 June 2014]

The Telegraph. 28 May 2014. Rob Crilly. "Key Militant Group Splits from Pakistan Taliban." [Accessed 26 June 2014]

Terrorism Research & Analysis Consortium (TRAC). N.d. "Tehreek-e-Taliban Islami Pakistan (TTIP/TTP)." [Accessed 26 June 2014]

United States (US). 27 February 2014. Department of State."Pakistan." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2013. [Accessed 24 June]

____. 2014. National Counterterrorism Center. "Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP)." Counterterrorism 2014 Calendar. [Accessed 23 June 2014]

_____. 30 May 2013. Department of State. "Chapter 6. Foreign Terrorist Organizations." Country Reports on Terrorism 2012. [Accessed 24 June 2014]

The Washington Post. 9 June 2014. Ishaan Tharoor "4 Reasons the Pakistani Taliban is Winning." [Accessed 2 July 2014]

Additional Sources Consulted

Internet sites, including: The Atlantic; Australia – Refugee Review Tribunal; The Christian Science Monitor; Combating Terrorism Center; The Conflict Monitoring Centre; Dawn.com; The Diplomat; ecoi.net; European Interagency Security Forum; Freedom House; GlobalSecurity.org; Geopolitical Monitor; Human Rights Watch; International Crisis Group; Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses; Institute for Policy Studies; IHS Jane's; Jafria News; The Jamestown Foundation; Pakistan Defence; Pakistan – Ministry of Defence, The Official Web Portal of Pakistan; Small Arms Survey; United Kingdom – Home Office; United Nations – Integrated Regional Information Networks, Refworld.