FROM JIHAD TO JIRGA : HOW TTP IS RESHAPING REBRANDING ITS IDENTITY AS DEFENDER OF THE PASHUTN IDENTITY

• Tehreek e Taliban strategic rebranding from a primarily religious organization to a defender of Pashtun identity

Tehreek e Taliban is trying to do a massive makeover . long after years of framing themselves as a jihadist organization against the state of Pakistan there seem to be a new aim by the organization in an attempt of reshaping their cause. This time not religious but rather building a narrative as the defender of the Pashtun Identity where preference of a Jirga (Mediation) over the barrel of an Ak 47 , well atleast in public consciousness .

According to the Global terrorism Index 2025 Pakistan witnessed over 1099 terror attacks a massive rise from 517 terrorists attacks from 2023 marking a massive spike in internal security lapses. Out of those 1099 attacks around 482 of these terrorists attack seem to have been conducted by the TTP which marks a massive increase from 293 deaths in 2023. Yet beyond the rising body count there seem to be a shift in narrative being brought by the TTP . Once presented as a religious resistance organization for the implementation of Shariah law , TTP now present frames itself into now as a ethnic resistance movement against the political grievances of the Pashtun Society against the State . the question brings is why now?

There are various arguments towards this change of strategy by TTP. One arguments by analyst is the failure of the narrative of Pure religious Jihad which seem to have gone out of vogue which the TTP seem to position it ideology upon as a source of Islamic Vanguard to position strick Islamic shariah. In light of major events such as the 2014 APS attack further delegitimize their support and cause among the mass public and the shifting trends from religious nationalism to Ethnic based nationalism seems to have been growing more in prominence in rise of the nationalist non violent resistance movement like Pashtun Tahafiz Movement (PTM) and Baloch Yekhjati Movement (BYK) whose trends is what now the TTP wants to ride upon. According to the Carnegie endowment the 2018 TTP manifesto adopted by the terrorist group was critical as it marked what was the end of the call of transactional jihad into something smaller but yet more specific which involved attacking state personnel and alignment with local Pakistan ethnonationalist groups to gain legitimacy in a society which seems to have little interest on religious nationalism.

There is also another major strategic dilemma by the TTP who despite viewing itself as a jihadist movement which involves every segment of Pakistani society received its majority recruitment bulk from the Pashtun population region who now seeing increasingly disillusioned by the jihadist movement are now opting for non violent resistance movement like Pashtun Tahafiz Movement as an alternative to address Pashtun grievances. The rise of PTM popularity in the region which is strongly anti TTP posed a major legitimacy crisis among the TTP who decided now to counteract by now framing itself as a organization advocating for Pashtun demands and their grievances just with a difference of a militant spin . According to Dr Naila Qazi who is a Political Sociologist from the University of Peshawar mentions of how the TTP are increasingly positioning itself as a Political alternatives to the current Pakistan parliamentary dysfunction by framing their movement aim towards ethnonationalism.

Another factor is due to the loss of territory by TTP after the military operation codenamed Zarb e Azab and Rad ul Fasaad which destroyed much of TTP infrastructure in FATA resulting in increasingly less relevance of TTP projection as Proto-State within Pakistan . Seeing this resulted into TTP framing itself akin more to a Political resistance movement for Pashtun rights. Increasingly since 2019 TTP has now seen an increasing revival with the rise of more attacks and intensification of propagation Ever since the fall of the Ghani administration by the Afghan Taliban resulted in a new safe haven for TTP members to operate against the state

The most visible test to determine TTP transaction from jihad to jirga came with the proclamation of the Bajaur Amn Jirga where local representatives leaders met with TTP to cool off tensions into the region. Surprisingly this time the TTP were willing to lay down arms and agree to a ceasefire on 4^th August 2025 until the conflict itself is completely resolved via talks which marking a striking depature of the traditional TTP hardline rhetoric signaling the leadership interest to adopt a conciliatory jirga method of reclaiming relevance into the region.

This wasn’t exactly a one off incident either , during 2022 negotiation happened in Kabul in which an formation of 57 member jirga of tribal elders was made in an attempt to to bring an end of the ongoing insurgency and conflict between the State forces and the TTP . However months after this the ceasefire collapsed after the TTP accused Islamabad of acting in bad faith and launched a series of attacks . This shows that even the central organization of the TTP is divided among external sanctuary and internal network

TTP current leadership under Mufti Noor Wali Mehsu is currently projecting the TTP movement as a akin to central narratives of historical Pashtun leaders like Faqir Ippi and Haji Sahib of Turangzai and by projecting the durand line bordering Pakistan with Afghanistan as a colonial remanent which has no place in today society . This historical neo revisionism of Pashtun identity by the TTP marks a new period of the revivalism of TTP II where the Militiarization of Pashtun identity and jirga would be used to speak out against the state itself . Recent military counterterrorism operations in Bajaur led to the displacement of 55000 Pashtun identity and to the new revival of Pashtun grievances within the State and establishment of being accused of using Pashtun as security buffer pawns to the games long played since the British imperial era. Increasingly digital voices and social media accounts such as United states of Pakhtoon on Instagram increasingly portray this similar identity narratives which is leading the political militarization of Pashtun identity and resistence from the state from a new generation of Pashtun youth which the TTP increasingly want to exploit. The failure of the state and military establishment to bring transparency in their operations in regards to accidental killing in operation via form of jirga and mechanism to mitigate civilian harm could result in TTP filling that void among the aggravated citizens stuck in the crossfire. Unless the state tries to readdress their hybrid warfare where part insurgency and perception building takes place. The TTP is likely to mark a new chapter of military violence and legitimization this time not in religious cause but as a defender of neo-revisionist Pashtun Identity

Nofal Bin Adeel is Conflict Researcher and an Undergraduate 7^th Semester Student from National Defense Univeristy. He has previously written articles on the Iran-Saudi Deal on Capital tribune in 2023 and currently working on a research book Intersectionality and Mobilization of the Poland Solidarity Movement . He is an avid debater with a love of history , war analysis, debating and tennis. His email is nofal.adeel2@gmail.com

LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/nofal-adeel-8939b5341/