Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan’s Jamaat ul Ahrar faction has expelled four leaders for ‘acting against Sharia and violating group’s rules and regulations,” according to group’s spokesman.

The expulsion of senior members exposes differences within the ranks of the Jamaat ul Ahrar at a time when the group is under tremendous pressure after losing dozens of fighters in shelling by Pakistani forces on Afghan side of the border after February attacks in several parts of the country. Sources privy to Jamaat ul Ahrar confirm that US drones have also targeted group’s fighters in recent months.

Spokesman for Jamaat ul Ahrar Asad Mansoor identified the sacked members as Maulana Salahuddin, Maulana Waqas, Qazi Saqib and Mehdi.

Maulana Salahuddin was a senior commander and in-charge of the Jamaat ul Ahrar ‘s financial affairs. He was former member of the TTP ‘shura’.

Mehdi was a senior commander and had many followers among the militants. He also served as head of the finance department. He once headed activities in the cities.

Qazi Saqib, a renowned religious scholar, has served as chief justice of Jamaat ul Ahrar.

Maulana Waqas is a religious scholar and a teacher.

All four belong to Mohmand tribal agency and now live in Afghanistan.

The spokesman informed all militant groups in a statement emailed to the media that the Jamaat ul Ahrar will not be responsible for any act of the sacked members as they are no more associated with the outfit.

Mansoor did not share any further details. However, a former Jamaat ul Ahrar commander, who is close to the expelled leaders, has confided to Daily Times that all are influential religious scholars and enjoyed a lot of respect among militants. He said sacking of the religious scholars has raised many a question about the conduct of the group’s top leadership. He maintained that the sacked leaders had been ‘upset over group’s attacks in public places, killing of civilians, jailing their own people and extortion of money from public’.

The Jamaat ul Ahrar, blamed for many attacks in Pakistan since it was launched in 2014, faced a serious blow when its senior leader Ehsanullah Ehsan surrendered to security forces in early April.

Ehsan, in a video statement and later in an interview with a private TV channel, accused the Jamaat ul Ahrar of receiving support from hostile agencies. Around 12 other militants belonging to the Jamaat ul Ahrar had already surrendered before Ehsan handed over himself to the forces, a source privy to the development says.

Daily Times has, however, learnt that the four sacked leaders had already parted ways with the group because of their differences with the chief of the outfit, Abdul Wali, who is known as Omar Khalid Khorasani. They had already left the Jamaat ul Ahrar areas mainly in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar and Khost provinces, according to sources.

A Jamaat ul Ahrar source told Daily Times that nearly 50 supporters of the group have joined the Islamic State Khorasan, whose leaders are believed to be based in Afghanistan. Omar Khitab, one of the Jamaat ul Ahrar senior military commanders; Dr Islam Abid, who headed the group’s medical unit and senior commander Sajid are among those who have switched loyalties to Abu Bakar Baghdadi’s Islamic State.

The group has lost around 40 fighters in drone strikes this year and another 50 have parted ways.