Home Latest News Jamaat ul Ahrar Welcomes New Al Qaeda Branch

Jamaat ul Ahrar Welcomes New Al Qaeda Branch

by AFP
Haji Muslim—AFP

Haji Muslim—AFP

Spokesman for breakaway TTP faction says the Zawahiri-launched militant group will help ensure rights of Muslims in the region.

A new breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban on Friday welcomed Al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri’s announcement of the launch of a South Asian branch of the terror network.

Zawahiri announced the new “Al Qaeda in the subcontinent” operation in a video message, saying it would take the fight to Myanmar, Bangladesh and India, which has a large but traditionally moderate Muslim population. Indian authorities said they were taking the move seriously and put several states on high alert on Thursday.

Ehsanullah Ehsan, spokesman for the new Pakistani Taliban bloc, Jamaat ul Ahrar, hailed Zawahiri’s call. “We welcome the new announcement of the subcontinent branch of Al Qaeda. We believe that the branch will work hard for the achievement of the rights of Muslims in the subcontinent,” Ehsan said in a message posted on Twitter and Facebook.

Ehsan said rights of Muslims in the region could only be achieved through Islamic sharia law and the establishment of a caliphate.

Asim Umar, the head of the newly created South Asia branch of Al Qaeda, is a Pakistani ideologue who has produced a number of online calls to jihad but has a relatively low profile. Umar has appeared wearing a black turban and beard in several online videos produced by Al Qaeda and the TTP.

The TTP is now effectively divided into two factions, one headed by Maulana Fazlullah, who was elected last November following the killing of ex-chief Hakimullah Mehsud in a U.S. drone strike. The breakaway Jamaat ul Ahrar group announced its split on Thursday and named Omar Khalid Khorasani as its commander.

Analysts believe Khorasani has strong links to Al Qaeda and Zawahiri.

In response to yesterday’s Al Qaeda announcement, a foreign ministry spokesman said: “Pakistan has taken very resolute action against Al Qaeda and its remnants. Our military operation against terrorists is still going on. It is all inclusive and across the board.”

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