The influential spokesman of the Pakistani Taliban has been sacked for pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group and for feuding with his leader Fazlullah, according to a statement issued by senior commanders.
It is the latest sign of deepening divisions in the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, which was formed in 2007 but has recently undergone numerous splits that analysts say have harmed its operational capacity.
The move came after Shahidullah Shahid, who became the militant group’s spokesman in 2013, was apparently heard in an audio recording released last week pledging allegiance to IS jihadists who have taken over large parts of Iraq and Syria.
In a statement published on its Facebook page, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) said he was no longer a member of the group and that its leader Maulana Fazlullah swore fealty only to Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar.
“The real reason was that there were differences between Shahid and TTP chief Fazlullah over the command of the group,” he said, speaking over the phone from an undisclosed location.
Shahid was vocal about urging Fazlullah to come to the North Waziristan tribal district, where the Pakistan military launched an offensive in June, to lead the group from the front, instead of issuing orders from Afghanistan’s Kunar province by satellite phone, said the commander.
“Secondly, Shahid was also annoyed that he was not taken into confidence by Fazlullah on mending relations with the Sajna faction led by its leader khan Said,” the commander added, referring to an influential faction of the powerful Mehsud tribe that split from the TTP’s central leadership in May.
Last month militants from the Mohmand tribal district announced the formation of a new bloc called the Jamat-ul-Ahrar, further fracturing the TTP.
The group has killed thousands of civilians and security forces since rising up against the state following an operation against a radical mosque in Islamabad.
