Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group

After the subsequent invasion of Afghanistan, many militants including that of the Afghan Taliban, al-Qaeda and other Central Asian groups from Afghanistan fled to northwest Pakistan, where Bahadur was one of many tribal leaders who gave them refuge.^[3] As a leader of the Utmanzai Wazir, Bahadur maintained a loyal following of men reportedly numbering in the thousands. Utilizing his position, Bahadur served as chief negotiator in multiple peace talks and ceasefires between tribal militants and the Pakistani government. He rose to prominence in 2005 for leading armed opposition against the Pakistani military which had begun operations in 2004 to evict foreign fighters, mainly al-Qaeda, from Waziristan. Bahadur's hostility to the Pakistani government seemingly changed in September 2006 after signing a peace treaty with the government agreeing to expel foreign fighters, the deal being heavily influenced by the Afghan Taliban and Haqqani Network. After signing the treaty, Bahadur became the leader of the local Taliban in North Waziristan, where he effectively governed the region with the acceptance of Pakistan while maintaining ties with the Afghan Taliban and participating in the neighbouring war.^[3] Bahadur eventually resumed hostilities with the Pakistani state in July 2007. Amid peace talks, the Pakistani Taliban was officially formed in December 2007 with Bahadur being named as first deputy leader under Baitullah Mehsud, who led armed opposition against Pakistan. Bahadur distanced himself from the TTP as Mullah Omar opposed its foundation, instead calling for focus upon coalition and security forces in Afghanistan. Bahadur signed a peace agreement with the government on 18 February 2008. On 22 February 2009, Bahadur reconciled with Mehsud and other TTP leader Maulvi Nazir, forming an alliance to direct attacks on NATO forces in Afghanistan, while Bahadur and Nazir still remained pro-Pakistani government.^[4] Due to their lingering allegiance to Pakistan, the alliance broke down shortly after its formation, with HGB's relations remaining strained with the TTP.^[5][6]

HGB began taking more significant action against Pakistan from June 2009 as the government began to crack down on the TTP and Baitullah Mehsud.^[7] Bahadur opposed US drone strikes within Pakistan, threatening to pull out of their agreement with the government after the Datta Khel airstrike on 17 March 2011 which killed HGB commander Sherabat Khan Wazir.^[8] HGB's peace treaty with Pakistan eventually came to an end in May 2014 after they accused the government of violating their treaty with the launch of Operation Zarb-e-Azb. The group announced the shifting of all operations out of Afghanistan and into Pakistan and forced members to sever ties with the Pakistani government by 10 June.^[9] Significantly weakened by the operation, HGB and many other TTP elements fled to Afghanistan.^[3]

With the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, HGB's main target, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, had been defeated. With the installment of a Taliban government, both HGB and the TTP's goals have reportedly shifted, with HGB claiming multiple attacks upon Pakistani security forces in the ensuing years, including through collaborative operations with the TTP.^[3] The Pakistani government has accused the Afghan Taliban of allowing HGB and commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur to reside in Afghanistan and use their land as a staging ground for attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.^[10]

On 3 June, HGB and the TTP launched a joint attack on a security checkpoint in Jani Khel, Bannu, killing two soldiers and losing two members in a gunfight.^[11]

On 26 November, a suicide bomber on a motorcycle attacked a security convoy in Bannu, killing two civilians and injuring three soldiers. The attacker was an Afghan citizen affiliated with HGB.^[12]

On 16 March, HGB militants attacked a military post in North Waziristan, ramming a suicide car bomb into the post before starting a firefight. The attacked killed 7 soldiers and 6 HGB fighters.^[13]

On 15 July, HBG carried out an attack on an army cantonment in Bannu which killed 8 soldiers and wounded 141 people. The attackers utilized a suicide bomber to breach the cantonment walls before gunmen stormed the base.^[14]

On 9 August, HGB launched three attacks on different military posts in Tirah Valley along the Afghan border, killing three Pakistani soldiers and wounding dozens while suffering four casualties.^[15][16]

Jaish-e-Fursan-e-Muhammad (JFM) is a subgroup of HGB that was seemingly formed in 2024 for the purpose of fighting Pakistani security forces. JFM is believed to be a front for HGB, in line with the TTP's usage of front groups such as Tehreek-e-Jihad, in order to claim plausible deniability for attacks in Pakistan. The group has claimed multiple attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including the Bannu Cantonment attack.^[17]

The group was designated a terrorist organization by Pakistan on 31 July 2024.^[18]

Hafiz Gul Bahadur (Urdu: حافظ گل بہادر, born c.1961) hails from the Madda Khel clan of the Utmanzai Wazir and was raised in a village in North Waziristan.^[5] He is the direct descendant of anti-colonial freedom fighter Mirzali Khan, also known as the Faqir of Ipi.

Bahadur attended a Deobandi madrassa in Multan, Punjab and participated in the Soviet–Afghan War and Afghan civil war,^[5] the latter which he likely fought on the side of the Afghan Taliban through developing ties with the Haqqani Network.^[5][3] He was also a leader of the student wing of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal (JUI-F) in North Waziristan, receiving attention in 2001 for recruiting a militia of 4,000 in opposition to United Nations monitors who were set to deploy along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in order to prevent flow of weapons to the Afghan Taliban. The deployment didn't occur due to the September 11 attacks.^[6]

In 2005 the Pakistani military began operations within North Waziristan to pursue foreign, mainly al-Qaeda, militants fleeing from South Waziristan. They met resistance from militant groups led by Hafiz Gul Bahadur, among others.^[5] In September 2006 he negotiated a peace deal with the Pakistani military in which he agreed to expel all foreign militants, such as al-Qaeda and Uzbek militants, from Pakistani soil.^[6]

After a year of fighting US-led forces in Afghanistan, he returned to Pakistan in late 2007.^[19] During late 2007 and early 2008, Bahadur refused to assist Baitullah Mehsud against the Pakistani Army and urged him to refrain from fighting Pakistani forces in Razmak, North Waziristan.^[20]

Upon the formation of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in December 2007, he was announced as the militant group's overall naib amir under Baitullah Mehsud, who was based in South Waziristan, but has largely distanced himself from the TTP due to rivalries with Mehsud and disagreements about the TTP's attacks against the Pakistani state.^[21][6] Although no formal announcement of leaving the TTP occurred, Gul Bahadur often refused to coordinate activities with the TTP against the government.^[6]

In July 2008 Gul Bahadur and Maulvi Nazir, leader of the Ahmedzai Wazirs in South Waziristan, announced the creation of the Muqami Tehrik-e Taliban, translated as the Local Taliban Movement and also referred to as the "Waziri Alliance", with Gul Bahadur as its leader and Nazir as his deputy.^[5][6]

In late 2008 missile strikes from U.S. drones in North Waziristan strained the peace deal with Islamabad that he had agreed previously to observe in 2006.^[19] In March 2011 he threatened to pull out of the peace deal with Pakistani government after one of his top commanders Sherabat Khan Wazir was killed in Datta Khel airstrike.^[22]

In 2014 conflicting reports suggest that air strikes conducted in Datta Khel Tehsil of North Waziristan Agency have killed key commanders of the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group including Gul Bahadur.^[23]

Following the Fall of Kabul (2021), the Gul Bahadur Network’s ties to the Haqqani Network and TTP have significantly improved, resulting in a sharp increase in cross border militant incursions along the Pakistan-Afghanistan international border.^[24]

Hafiz Gul Bahadur is closely allied with Sirajuddin Haqqani and provides him with a rear base in North Waziristan.^[25] Anti-American Taliban are headed by Gul Bahadur and Haqqani network.^[26]

• Drone attacks in Pakistan
• War in North-West Pakistan

• Waziristan and Mughal empire^[usurped]
• Nehru in Waziristan^[usurped]
• Sketch map of Waziristan^[usurped]
• Mehsuds and Wazirs, the King-makers in a game of thrones^[usurped]
• Lawrence of Arabia in Waziristan^[usurped]