Article

2017-02-21 India-Pakistan

[GEO.TV] Since its establishment in 2014, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar has proved to be a lethal terrorist group, by perpetrating some of the most brutal attacks in Pakistain. While the leadership is currently based out of Afghanistan, Ahrar has networks in Bajaur and Mohmand agencies of the Federally Administrative Tribal Areas, as well as support structures in others parts of the country.

The bad boy outfit is the brainchild of Omar Khalid Khorasani -- an ambitious Taliban capo and a former member of the Pak Taliban’s Shura - who parted ways with the Taliban after they pursued peace talks with the government.

From August 2014 to date, the group has been found involved in 116 terrorist attacks in Pakistain, against diverse targets ranging from security forces, tribal elders, and minorities to sectarian communities.

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Last year, Ahrar launched an operation titled "al-Raad" (Thunder). Shortly after, it orchestrated attacks on the Charsadda University, the Christian community on Easter Day in Lahore, Quetta’s Civil Hospital, Session Courts in Mardan and on an FC camp in

Mohmand Agency
... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar...
Earlier this month, it launched "Operation Ghazi", and has since planned and executed eight gun and kabooms.

The group’s strategy, it seems, is to employ back-to-back attacks, to create more impact and panic, rather than long intervolved attacks.

In the last few years, the Pak Taliban’s seemingly weakening capabilities has strengthened Ahrar, although the group has a tendency to accommodate new ideological, political, and operational trends.

Khorasani is among the ideologues of the tribal Taliban movement; he also worked as an editor of the Taliban’s quarterly magazine Ihya-e-Khilafat. Previously, he was associated with several Pakistain-based bad boy organizations, including the banned Harkatul Mujahideen and Jaish-e-Muhammad.

For the young leader, the siege of the Red Mosque was a turning point. (He even renamed a mosque in his native village Ghaziabad in Mohmand Agency after it in 2007).

Soon, Khorasani took up arms against the state and killed pro-Afghan Taliban capo Shah Khalid in 2008.

Both ISIS and Ahrar are products of the same narrative. Khorasani and his close aide, Omer Asim, who later went on to become the head of the al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), reportedly disagreed with the strategies of the global and regional bad boy leaderships. The men were instead heavily influenced by turban strategist, Abu Bakr Naji and Abu Musab al-Suri, as well as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Naji’s published work includes, "The Management of Savagery: The Most Critical Stage Through Which the Umma Will Pass," compiles lessons learned from previous turban initiatives, as well as proposes a future direction for the movement. While, Suri’s 1,600-page book, "The Call to a Global Islamic Resistance," which both men have read, advocates ’leaderless jihad’ and strategies such employ lone-wolf attacks.

In 2014, when ISIS announced the establishment of a so-called Caliphate in Iraq and Syria, Ahrar was expected to be one of the first groups to declare allegiance. Yet, surprisingly it wasn’t. Instead, Taliban capos from the Orakzai Agency
... crawling with holy men, home to Darra Adam Khel, the world's largest illegal arms bazaar. 14 distinct tribes of beturbanned primitives inhabit Orakzai agency's 1500 or so square kilometers...
of FATA swore fealty to ISIS. Although, these commanders were allies of Ahrar they were known to be more sectarian in nature. It was easy for them to join the ultra-sectarian international movement, especially at a time when their parent group, the Pak Taliban, was facing an internal crisis.

In 2014, ISIS announced establishment of a so-called Caliphate in Iraq and Syria. But Jamaat-ul-Ahrar did not immediately pledge allegiance.

Later it emerged that the Jamaat ul Ahrar leadership was wavering between the Afghan Taliban-Al Qaeda alliance and ISIS. It was difficult for Ahrar to maintain ties with two rivals, al-Qaeda and ISIS, at the same time, while remaining loyal to the Afghan Taliban.

In the meantime, the Orakzai-based Taliban capos, by declaring allegiance to ISIS, were also able to capture the title of Khorasan. Previously, Ahrar had reserved the title for itself, claiming to be the first troops of the ’Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
of Khorasan’. They believe that the time has come for the establishment of an ’Islamic state’ in this region, comprising of parts of Central Asia, Iran, Pakistain, and Afghanistan.

Khorasani aspires to make his group part of a broader Khorasan movement, which is why it is interesting to note that Ahrar has been cautious not to associate itself with one terror group. While it welcomed the establishment of ISIS, it also accepted Ayman al-

Zawahiri
... Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area assuming he's not dead like Mullah Omar. He lost major face when he ordered the nascent Islamic State to cease and desist and merge with the orthodx al-Qaeda spring, al-Nusra...
’s extension of al-Qaeda in South Asia. Ahrar’s acceptance of al-Qaeda in its region could also be due to Asim’s appointment as the head of the new group.

Khorasani’s decision to not join either the AQIS or ISIS has raised its credibility in bad boy circles as an independent entity. Although, he is still the man most sought out by bad boy groups to unify them at times of disagreement.

Posted by Fred 2017-02-21 00:00|| || Front Page|| [5 views ] Top
File under: Jamaat-ul-Ahrar

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