A split has emerged in the Pakistani Taliban after the major Mehsud faction walked out, saying the group leaders’ tactics were “un-Islamic”.
It is the first major rift in Pakistani Taliban ranks since 2007 when the umbrella group was first formed.
Analysts say the split may help advance peace talks with the government.
Tens of thousands of people have died in militant attacks in Pakistan in the last seven years, most of them claimed by the Taliban.
The rift comes after over a month of infighting in which dozens of fighters from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were killed.
The powerful faction comprising militants from the Mehsud tribe – the core around which regional militant groups initially gravitated to form the TTP – said it was forming its own separate group called Tehrik Taliban South Waziristan.
A spokesman for the new group, Azam Tariq Mehsud, told reporters the decision to part ways with the TTP was made when efforts to persuade the TTP leadership to give up practices which were “contrary to Islam” failed.
“We consider the bombing of public places, extortion and kidnappings un-Islamic, and since the TTP leaders continued with these practices, we decided we should not share the responsibility,” he said.
wirestory
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