Pakistani Taliban splits as Mehsud faction walks out due to 'un-Islamic' tactics

The major Mehsud faction has walked out resulting in the first major rift in the Pakistani Taliban ranks since 2007, when the umbrella group was first formed, stating the group leaders' 'un-Islamic' tactics as the reason behind it.

Analysts have said that the split, which came after over a month of infighting in which dozens of fighters from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were killed, might help advance peace talks with the government

According to the BBC, in the last seven years tens of thousands of people have died in militant attacks in Pakistan, and most of them have been claimed by the Taliban.

The powerful faction comprising militants from the Mehsud tribe said that it was forming its own separate group called Thrik Tiban South Wazirist, even though they were the core around which regional militant groups initially gravitated to form the TTP.

A spokesman for the new group, Azam Tariq Mehsud has reportedly revealed that the decision to part ways with the TTP was made when efforts to persuade the TTP leadership to give up practices contrary to Islam, failed.

Mehsud said that they consider the bombing of public places, extortion and kidnappings un-Islamic, and since the TTP leaders continued with these practices, they decided that they should not share the responsibility.

Differences within the TTP had emerged when its founding leader, Baitullah Mehsud, was killed in a drone strike in 2009, which was followed by Mehsud's successor, Hakimullah Mehsud's, killing in another drone strike in 2013 that resulted in the differences coming to a head, the report added.