Who is Noor Wali Mehsud, the man behind Pakan’s deadly new enemy, Afghanan | World News

Noor Wali Mehsud became leader of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakan (TTP) in 2018, following the deaths of his three predecessors in US drone strikes.(Wikimedia Commons)

Noor Wali Mehsud, the leader of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakan (TTP), has emerged as the most feared figure behind the recent surge in deadly attacks on Pakani soil. Operating from Afghanan, Mehsud has rebuilt and united the militant group, transforming it into a disciplined and ideologically driven force. His presence across the border has become the central point of tension between Pakan and Afghanan, even as a fragile ceasefire holds in the wake of the fiercest clashes between the neighbours in decades.

An uneasy ceasefire took hold on Wednesday after renewed fighting killed and wounded dozens along the southeastern Afghanan-Pakan border. Pakan’s main grievance remains Mehsud’s presence in Afghanan, along with his top lieutenants. Last week, an airstrike in Kabul reportedly targeted an armoured Toyota Land Cruiser believed to be carrying Mehsud. Both militants and Pakani officials suggest he likely survived, with the group releasing an audio message purportedly from him. Reuters noted that Pakan has not officially claimed the airstrike.
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The Afghan Taliban denies sheltering Pakani militants and, in turn, accuses Islamabad of supporting the local branch of the Islamic State group, which remains the Taliban’s main armed rival, according to Reuters.

Revival under his leadership

Mehsud assumed leadership of the TTP in 2018 after a string of US drone strikes killed his three predecessors. then, Pakani military operations had largely driven the group out of its traditional strongholds and into Afghanan.

Under Mehsud’s leadership, the TTP has revived its operational capabilities, unified fragmented factions, and developed a strategic, ideologically motivated approach to militancy, Reuters reported. A trained religious scholar, Mehsud has also waged an ideological battle, portraying himself as a defender of Pashtun rights and criticising Pakan’s military leadership.

The Taliban’s 2021 takeover of Afghanan gave the TTP freer movement and increased access to weapons, Islamabad claims. Attacks inside Pakan have escalated, particularly in the northwest bordering Afghanan. Unlike the group’s previous assaults, which included civilian targets such as mosques and schools—including a 2014 school attack that killed over 130 children—Mehsud has reportedly directed the TTP to target only military and police personnel.

In a rare video speech earlier this year, Mehsud, as per Reuters, criticised Pakan’s army, accusing it of hijacking the country for decades and portraying it as anti-Islam.

Tribal Insurrection

Mehsud fuses religious justification with a national agenda. He has authored at least three books, including a 700-page treatise tracing the TTP’s insurgency to resance against British colonial rule. Experts as quoted Reuters, say Mehsud positions himself as a voice for the Pashtun ethnic group, which spans northwest Pakan and Afghanan—the latter largely under Taliban control.

“Mehsud continues his efforts to reshape the group into an armed movement fighting, as he claims, for the rights of Pashtun tribespeople,” said Abdul Sayed, an independent analyst on regional militancy, Reuters reported. “He envisions a governance system in Pakan akin to that of the Afghan Taliban.”

Despite this, the TTP enjoys little public support within Pakan. In recent unofficial talks mediated through tribal intermediaries, the militants demanded the imposition of their interpretation of Islamic law in border regions, the withdrawal of Pakan’s army, and their return to former strongholds—requests that authorities rejected, according to Reuters.

A fragile ceasefire?

The ongoing ceasefire between Pakan and Afghanan, brokered after the most serious clashes between the neighbours in decades, remains tenuous. The main flashpoint is Mehsud himself, whose leadership continues to drive insurgent operations from Afghan territory. Both sides remain wary, with accusations of cross-border provocations and unresolved grievances heightening tensions along the border, Reuters reported.