• The Tehrik-i-Taliban Kashmir or TTK is a new faction trying to redefine the rules of engagement in Kashmir.

• Its current approach shows it to be an Indian supported element as the group has condemned the Pahalgam attack.

Tehrik-i-Taliban Kashmir Formed as a new group ascertains its ground in Azad Jammu & Kashmir to seek independence of Kashmir. The group claims that it wants complete independence of Kashmir from both India and Pakistan. The Kashmir dispute is a long standing issue between India and Pakistan. Both sides have had several wars and skirmishes since 1947. Yet, the issue remains unresolved and it has created a hopeless situation for the people of Kashmir in particular and both India and Pakistan in general. There were warnings that Kashmir issue can ignite a catastrophic conflict. It is resulting in increasing militancy in the region where the youth can engulf in similar approach to the TTP. So, let’s see how it is coming up.

What is Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)?

The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban, is a prominent militant group operating primarily along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Founded in the mid-2000s, the group has been responsible for a significant number of terrorist attacks within Pakistan, targeting both state institutions and civilian populations. The TTP is ideologically aligned with global jihadist movements such as al-Qaeda and shares a common origin and inspiration with the Afghan Taliban, though it operates independently and often with differing strategic priorities.

Recently, Pakistan has claimed that India is using its proxies to attack Pakistani forces in Balochistan and KPK. After the recent escalation over Pahalgam Attacks and India’s losses, the Indian establishment has chosen to use proxies for attacks on Pakistan. For instance, a children’s bus was attacked in Balochistan by an Indian supported proxy. Moreover, there is a significant escalation by the militant groups in different parts of the country. At the same time, this new group has merged.

Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan vs Tehrik-i-Taliban Kashmir

Tehrik-i-Taliban Kashmir Formed. Unlike Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, Tehrik-i-Taliban Kashmir has a clear focus of establishing an Islamic Emirate in Kashmir. The group intends to seek independence from both Pakistan and India. Moreover, it wants to implement its own operations in the region by attacking the local forces in Kashmir. However, its immediate target is Pakistani forces. Thus, it seems to be an Indian offshoot similar to Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) in Balochistan.

History of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan

Tehrik-i-Taliban Kashmir Formed. Yet, it is important to review the basis of formation of Tehreek-i-Taliban. The genesis of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan can be traced back to the post-9/11 geopolitical reordering of South Asia and the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. As the Afghan Taliban regime collapsed, many fighters sought refuge in Pakistan’s tribal areas, particularly in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). The vacuum of authority in these regions, coupled with the U.S. pressure on Pakistan to support the War on Terror, created fertile ground for local militancy to evolve into an organized insurgency.

In December 2007, various Pakistani militant factions—many of whom had fought alongside the Afghan Taliban—formally unified under the leadership of Baitullah Mehsud, creating the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan. The group’s stated objectives included the imposition of Sharia law in Pakistan, resistance against the Pakistani military, and the expulsion of foreign (particularly Western) influence.

Ideological Framework

The TTP subscribes to a Salafi-jihadist ideology, drawing theological and operational inspiration from groups like al-Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban. Its foundational goals include:

• Establishment of an Islamic Emirate in Pakistan.
• Enforcement of a strict interpretation of Sharia throughout the country.
• Opposition to the Pakistani state, particularly its military and intelligence apparatus, which the TTP views as collaborating with the West.
• Support for global jihad, including solidarity with transnational groups such as al-Qaeda.
• Unlike the Afghan Taliban—whose ambitions are largely confined to Afghanistan—the TTP has historically maintained a Pan-Islamist orientation, supporting attacks against Pakistani and international targets.

It explains that the Tehrik-i-Taliban Kashmir or TTK had a different focus. It does not stay up to creating an Islamic Emirate in Kashmir. Rather, it is focused on destabilizing Pakistan’s Kashmir region by conducting strikes on its own people and forces.

Organizational Structure and Leadership

Initially centralized under Baitullah Mehsud, the TTP has since undergone numerous changes in leadership due to internal rifts and targeted killings by the Pakistani military and U.S. drone strikes. Some key leaders include:

• Baitullah Mehsud (2007–2009): Founder and first Emir, killed in a U.S. drone strike.
• Hakimullah Mehsud (2009–2013): Notorious for intensifying suicide attacks and targeting security forces. Also killed in a drone strike.
• Fazlullah (2013–2018): Known for ordering the 2014 Peshawar school massacre, which killed over 140 people, most of them children.
• Noor Wali Mehsud (2018–Present): The current leader, who has attempted to rebrand the group with a more politically strategic face while maintaining operational militancy.

The TTP’s organizational model is semi-decentralized, with various regional commanders exercising a degree of autonomy, especially in areas like North and South Waziristan, Bajaur, and Swat.

The organizational model of Tehrik-i-Taliban Kashmir or TTK is yet unclear since there is no official backing from any group. However, it may come up as a group such as BLA in future.

Major Attacks and Tactics of TTP

As Tehrik-i-Taliban Kashmir Formed in Kashmir. Let us review the impact of TTP on Pakistan. The TTP has orchestrated some of the most devastating attacks in Pakistan’s history, employing tactics such as suicide bombings, IEDs, targeted assassinations, and assaults on military installations and public institutions. Notable incidents include:

• 2009 Attack on GHQ (General Headquarters) in Rawalpindi.
• 2010 Lahore Mosque Attacks, targeting Ahmadi minorities.
• 2014 Peshawar Army Public School Massacre, which shocked the nation and led to a major military response.
• Attacks on polio workers and education advocates, notably the assassination attempt on Malala Yousafzai in 2012.

These acts of terror have led to widespread condemnation and have forced the Pakistani state to take more aggressive counterterrorism measures.

TTP in Pakistan

Following the APS attack in 2014, Pakistan launched Operation Zarb-e-Azb, a comprehensive military campaign to dismantle TTP strongholds in North Waziristan. This was followed by Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad, aimed at eliminating residual militant networks and curbing extremism nationwide.

The operations have significantly degraded the TTP’s capacity within Pakistan, forcing many of its leaders and operatives to flee to Afghanistan, where they regrouped and reestablished operational bases—allegedly with tacit support from factions within the Afghan Taliban.

Pakistan also implemented the National Action Plan (NAP), a policy framework designed to combat extremism through judicial reforms, regulation of madrassas, and curbs on hate speech. However, critics argue that enforcement remains inconsistent, particularly in addressing ideological indoctrination and political patronage of extremist groups.

Currently, TTP stands as a failed model at several ends. However, the launch of this new group Tehrik-i-Taliban Kashmir or TTK seems to be a similar effort from the Indian establishment.

Relationship with Afghan Taliban

While the TTP shares ethnic, religious, and ideological roots with the Afghan Taliban, their relationship has been strategically complex. The Afghan Taliban has, at times, acted as a mediator between the TTP and the Pakistani state, especially following the Taliban’s resurgence after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. However, the Afghan Taliban has also been reluctant to expel TTP fighters from its territory, creating diplomatic friction between Kabul and Islamabad.

This unresolved dynamic has heightened concerns about cross-border militancy, with Pakistan increasingly pressuring the Taliban regime to curb TTP operations—to limited success. The porous Durand Line remains a contested frontier, exploited by TTP fighters for launching raids and retreats.

Amid growing closeness between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the creation of Tehrik-i-Taliban Kashmir also seems to be an effort to derail the friendly ties between both the neighbors. Still, the response of Afghan Taliban may ascertain the future of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Kashmir.

Tehrik-i-Taliban Kashmir

The announcement of the group came on 31 May 2025. The announcement was made public through the group’s spokesperson Mufti Mehmood Butt. “We will work for the complete independence of Kashmir,” says the announcement. He added that they do not recognize the Line of Control (LOC) as a legitimate point of control for military actions.

A senior Pakistani journalist Mr. Tahir Khan shared: Days after police in Azad Kashmir claimed “killing of two members of the Pakistani Taliban” in Rawalakot, a group “Tehreek-e-Taliban Kashmir” (TTK) has emerged. The group says it will work for the “complete independence of #Kashmir from both #India and #Pakistan,” including complete autonomy and implementation of Islamic system.

The group spokesman Mufti Mehmood Butt Sopore says Maulana Maqbool Dar will lead the group. TTP spox says his group does not recognise the #LoC and that “no one can stop people from the cross-LoC movement”.  Inspector General of AJK police Rana Abdul Jabbar claimed on Friday that the alleged militant Zarnoosh Naseem “had contacts with TTP based in Afghanistan and wanted to establish a base in Kashmir.”

TTK did not mention the Rawalakot incident and condemned the Pahalgam attack, saying it considers attacks on innocent people against Islamic Sharia.