A man collects evidence at the site of a suicide bombing at a police station which was attacked a day earlier in Dera Ismail Khan June 26
ISLAMABAD: A Taliban commander in Pakistan’s volatile tribal belt has broken away from the militant outfit to form his own group as he is opposed to suicide attacks on mosques and civilians.
Fazal Saeed Haqqani, a commander in the Kurram tribal region, separated from the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and formed the Tehrik-e-Taliban Islami, Geo News channel reported.
Haqqani told the media that he had taken this step to protest suicide attacks on mosques and civilians.
The channel quoted its sources as saying that Haqqani earlier led TTP fighters in Kurram Agency and had step up training centers in several areas.
In the past, Haqqani’s associates kidnapped people and kept them in their training centers.
They would then kill their captives or release them after being paid ransom, the channel reported.
Observers said the move by Haqqani could be part of efforts by the government and security forces to engineer a split in the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, which is led by Hakimullah Mehsud.
There was no word from the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan on the development. -PTI
