The announcement indicates further fragmentation in the umbrella Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP), which suffered a setback Thursday when a new bloc declared its split from the group's official leadership.
"We will confine our practical jihadist role to Afghanistan in view of deteriorating situation in the region and internal situation of Pak jihadist movement," Punjabi Taliban chief Ismatullah Muawiya said in a pamphlet faxed to the media, without clarifying further.
Jamatul Ahrar welcomes new Al Qaeda branch
The faction is active in Punjab, Pakistain's wealthiest and most populous province and the political power base of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif
... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
and his Pakistain Moslem League-Nawaz (PML-N) party.
Muawiya said the faction will operate in Afghanistan under the guidance of Mullah Omar
... a minor Pashtun commander in the war against the Soviets who made good as leader of the Taliban. As ruler of Afghanistan, he took the title
Leader of the Faithful. The imposition of Pashtunkhwa on the nation institutionalized ignorance and brutality in a country already notable for its own fair share of ignorance and brutality...
, the spiritual leader of Afghan Taliban, while its activities in Pakistain will be confined to preaching Islam.
"The announcement is a major setback for the TTP as it shows fragmentation is continuing and the organization is fracturing," defence and security analyst Talat Masood told AFP.
"The groups within TTP have not accepted Mullah Fazlullah
...son-in-law of holy man Sufi Mohammad. Known as Mullah FM, Fazlullah had the habit of grabbing his FM mike when the mood struck him and bellowing forth sermons. Sufi suckered the Pak govt into imposing Shariah on the Swat Valley and then stepped aside whilst Fazlullah and his Talibs imposed a reign of terror on the populace like they hadn't seen before, at least not for a thousand years or so. For some reason the Pak intel services were never able to locate his transmitter, much less bomb it. After ruling the place like a conquered province for a year or so, Fazlullah's Talibs began gobbling up more territory as they pushed toward Islamabad, at which point as a matter of self-preservation the Mighty Pak Army threw them out and chased them into Afghanistan...
, which has caused a serious split in the organization."
Mullah Fazlullah was elected head of the TTP last November following the killing of Hakimullah Mehsud in a US drone strike.
A new bloc, named the TTP Jamatul Ahrar (freedom fighters group), announced its split from the group Thursday and named Omar Khalid Khorasani as its commander.