Peshawar: A key faction of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) announced that it was splitting from the militant outfit following bloody clashes with a rival group.
The break-away faction belongs to the Mehsud tribe, widely considered the most important of the various groups that comprise the umbrella TTP which has fought the Pakistani government since 2007. Azam Tariq, a spokesman for the group, said the breakaway faction would be lead by Khalid Mehsud, famously known by the name of Khan Said.
“We announce our defection from the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, we have chosen Khalid Mehsud as the new leader for South Waziristan,” announced Tariq.
He claimed that the present TTP regime was carrying out bomb attacks on public places with bogus names and money was also being extorted from madrassahs and other institutions which, he said, was unacceptable.
