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Punjabi Taliban
Punjabi Taliban
Leader	Asmatullah Muawiya
Dissolved	2014
Active regions	Pakistan (Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh), Afghanistan
Ideology	Islamic fundamentalism; Islamic extremism; Anti-Shi'ism; Anti-Christian sentiment; Anti-Hindu sentiment; Factions:; Salafi jihadism; Deobandi jihadism;
Political position	Far-right
Allies	Pakistani Taliban; Al-Qaeda; Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
Opponents	Pakistan; United States; Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Battles and wars	Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; War in Afghanistan (2001–2021);
	Preceded by; Lashkar-e-Jhangvi; Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan; Jaish-e-Mohammed; Various clandestine cell systems

The Punjabi Taliban (Punjabi: پنجابی طالبان), formally called the Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Punjab (Urdu/Pashto: تحریکِ طالبان پنجاب, lit. 'Student Movement of Pakistan'), was an illegal Islamist group in Pakistan. The Punjabi Taliban was mostly made up of Punjabis and was based in Punjab Province, as opposed to the Pashtun-dominated TTP based in KPK.^[1]

History

The Punjabi Taliban began after former members of LeJ, SSP, JeM and various small groups established a cooperation network. Members of other small terrorist cells were also involved. The Punjabi Taliban does not include the groups mentioned nor all their members, but only the individuals who travelled to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to participate in the insurgency and later formed this group. In late December 2008, the Punjabi Taliban were described as "patrolling the area [South Waziristan] in pickup trucks mounted with heavy guns and had been firing at drones wherever they spotted them. The vehicles were camouflaged with mud and grass".^[2]^[3]

The Punjabi Taliban reportedly had strong relations with the TTP, the Afghan Taliban, TNSM and various other groups based in the NWFP and FATA. They were a mixed Salafi and Deobandi group.^[4]^[5] They were also active in their native Punjab where they attacked Ahmadi, Shia, Sufi, and other targets. The Punjabi Taliban had some foreign mujahideen in it as well.^[6]^[7]

Although the Punjabi Taliban were an established and active militant group, the Government of Punjab has denied their existence.^[8] Shahbaz Sharif, stated that the term "Punjabi Taliban" was an "insult to the Punjabis" and blamed Rehman Malik for creating the term for ethnic purposes.^[9]^[5] At the crime scene of the assassination of Shahbaz Bhatti, pamphlets were found that proved the existence of the Punjabi Taliban.^[7]^[10]

Although the Punjabi Government denied their existence, the Pakistani Government and Lahore Police acknowledged them and blamed them for the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team.^[11] The Punjabi Taliban claimed responsibility for the 2009 Chakwal mosque bombing and the 2010 Ahmadiyya mosques massacre.^[12]

The Punjabi Taliban and the TTP both claimed responsibility for the 2009 Lahore bombing.^[13]

On 24 August 2013, the TTP and Punjabi Taliban had disagreements on whether to accept the Pakistani government's offers for peace talks. Asmatullah Muawiya, defended his argument by stating that the Punjabi Taliban and its Shura are completely separate from the TTP and their Shura and that the Punjabi Taliban was free to decide their own leadership and other matters.^[14] Eventually, both the TTP and the Punjabi Taliban decided to participate in peace talks with the Pakistani government. On December 25 2013, the US drone strikes in Pakistan were temporarily halted so that the Pakistani government can have peace talks with both the TTP and Punjabi Taliban. However, days after the 2014 Jinnah International Airport attack, the US launched a drone attack killing 4 IMU militants and 2 Punjabi Taliban militants in a village near Miranshah, ending the peace talks. On 13 September 2014, Muawiya announced that the Punjabi Taliban was leaving Pakistan to focus on fighting American soldiers in neighbouring Afghanistan. They later returned to Pakistan and dissolved shortly after. After the dissolution of the group, its leader Asmatullah Muawiya stated that he hopes to see the Sharia become the official law of Pakistan one day.^[15]^[16]

References

^ Hussain, Mujahid. Punjabi Taliban: Driving Extremism in Pakistan. Pentagon Press. ISBN 978-81-8274-592-6.
^ "Pakistan: The Militant Jihadi Challenge". www.crisisgroup.org. 2009-03-13. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
^ admin (2009-04-15). "Defining the Punjabi Taliban Network". Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
^ Hassan, Abbas (April 2009). "Defining the Punjabi Taliban Network" (PDF). CTC Sentinel. 2 (4): 1–4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 June 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
^ ^a ^b Majidyar, Ahmad K. (June 2010). "Could the Taliban Take Over Pakistan's Punjab Province?". Middle Eastern Outlook. Archived from the original on 9 February 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
^ Fair, C. Christine (January 2011). "The Militant Challenge in Pakistan" (PDF). Asia Policy. 11 (1): 105–37. doi:10.1353/asp.2011.0010. S2CID 155007730. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 17 February 2011.
^ ^a ^b "Things fall apart". The Economist. 3 March 2011. Archived from the original on 12 March 2011. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
^ Khan, Zia (5 July 2010). "Govt may tighten anti-terror laws". The Express Tribune. The Express Tribune News Network. Archived from the original on 28 October 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2011. However, the Punjab government is still denying the existence of "Punjabi militants" and has snubbed a demand for a crackdown on banned sectarian outfits that intelligence agencies say are now in collaboration with al Qaeda as well as the local Taliban.
^ Khan, Aamer Ahmed (3 July 2010). "Jaag Punjabi jaag". The Express Tribune. The Express Tribune News Network. Archived from the original on 10 November 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
^ "Terrorists silence another voice of interfaith harmony". Dawn. 2 March 2011. Archived from the original on 3 October 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
^ Pakistan cricket raid suspect held Archived 5 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Al Jazeera English. 17 June 2009.
^ Perlez, Jane (28 May 2010). "Attackers Hit Mosques of Islamic Sect in Pakistan". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 31 May 2010. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
^ "Pakistani Taliban claims Lahore attack". The Hindu. India. 29 May 2009. An unknown group called Tehreek-e-Taliban Punjab was also reported to have claimed the attack in a message posted on Turkish jihadist websites. SITE Intelligence, an American group tracking jihad websites, reported the claim late on Wednesday.
^ "TTP 'expel' Punjabi Taliban leader for welcoming govt talks offer". Dawn. 24 August 2013. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
^ "Punjabi Taliban call off armed struggle in Pakistan". Dawn. 13 September 2014. Archived from the original on 15 September 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
^ "Deadly Taliban group gives up armed struggle in Pakistan". The telegraph. 14 September 2014. Archived from the original on 15 September 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2014.