The Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan has released a video praising slain al Qaeda emir Osama bin Laden on the second anniversary of his death and vowing to continue “waging jihad for the Caliphate” in his name.
Umar Studio, the media arm of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, or Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, released the video of Ihsanullah Ihsan, the group’s top spokesman, yesterday. Ihsan’s speech is titled ‘The Day of Martyrdom of Sheikh Osama bin Laden.’ The video was obtained and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.
In the video, Ihsan called the death of bin Laden, which occurred during a US Navy SEALs raid on his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan on May 2, 2011, “the darkest day in Pakistani history.” Ihsan described bin Laden as a “general” and accused the Pakistani state of colluding with the US to kill the al Qaeda emir.
“This is the day when the world’s biggest terrorist, America, killed one of the greatest generals of the Muslim Ummah with the help of the Pakistani army and the government,” Ihsan said.
Ihsan denounced democracy in Pakistan, calling it a tool of the West, and urged Pakistanis to “rebel” and “boycott” upcoming elections. Over the past several weeks, the Pakistani Taliban has conducted several attacks against political candidates, party headquarters, and political gatherings.
“We appeal to the Pakistani nation to save themselves from American puppets, ” Ihsan said. “We appeal to the Pakistani public to boycott the election and rebel against this system, which has exploited the real aspirations and wishes of Pakistani public. We dedicate all our activities for the next decade to Sheikh Osama bin Laden and name this operation after him.”
Ihsan said the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan “is following the international agenda of Sheikh Osama bin Laden” and is “upholding his ideology.” The Pakistani Taliban would continue to fight until a global Caliphate is established, he claimed.
“Sheikh Osama bin Laden taught the Muslim Ummah that it is impossible to come out of political and economic slavery of the Jews and Christians without rebelling against the democratic system,” he continued. “He taught that the Ummah’s prosperity is hidden in waging jihad for the Caliphate.”
In the wake of bin Laden’s death, the Taliban carried out several attacks in Pakistan in his name. The largest was a suicide assault on Naval Air Station Mehran in Karachi on May 22, 2011. The Taliban destroyed two multimillion-dollar P-3C Orion surveillance aircraft and killed 10 Pakistani soldiers.
A year and a day prior to the death of bin Laden, the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan attempted to conduct an attack on US soil. On May 1, 2010, Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani Taliban operative, attempted to detonate a car bomb in New York City’s Times Square. The bomb failed to detonate due to triggering issues. Had the bomb detonated, it is thought that dozens of civilians would have been killed in the blast.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed credit for the attempt just hours after the failed attack. Hakeemullah Mehsud, the group’s emir, and his deputy, Qari Hussain, released statements claiming credit for the attack. The bomber, Faisal Shahzad, who was arrested by law enforcement, was also seen on a videotape with Hakeemullah.
In addition to fighting the Pakistani military and plotting attacks against the West, the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan is active in fighting US and Afghan forces in Afghanistan. The most infamous attack took place at Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost province on Dec. 30, 2009. A suicide bomber who claimed to be providing intelligence on the location of Ayman al Zawahiri detonated as he met with CIA officials; seven CIA personnel and security guards were killed. A videotape showing Hakeemullah and the Jordanian bomber, Abu Dujana al Khurasani, was later released by the Taliban.
The Pakistani Taliban recently released a video of one of its units, the Sa’ad bin Abi Waqas Group, operating in eastern Afghanistan. The group is named after an al Qaeda leader who was killed in Kunar.
Additionally, ISAF occasionally mentions targeting the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan’s network in Afghanistan. Two days ago, ISAF noted that it targeted a “senior insurgent leader” with links to the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, the Haqqani Network, and “Arabs” (a likely reference to al Qaeda) operating in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar. The leader also commands suicide bombers and runs a training camp in an undisclosed location along the Afghan-Pakistan border.
6 Comments
another well feed pampered pedophile has spoken
Should read Pakistan ISI/Army praise bin Laden by ‘waging jihad for the Caliphate’
I’m tired of reading comments from bin Laden’s peanut gallery saying he “martyred himself”. Since when is taking HK416 rounds to the face, while being too afraid to reach for a weapon, martyrdom? Isn’t martyrdom about sacrificing oneself for a greater cause? Bin Laden died just as he lived, as a hypocrite, nothing more. The guy ordered thousands to sacrifice their lives for “Islam” and fight to the bitter end, but was ultimately unwilling to do the same. At least Ihsan is following directly in bin Laden’s footsteps as he made clear he intends to do in this article. He asks Pakistanis to boycott elections because it exploits the “real aspirations and wishes of the Pakistani public.” He makes this appeal while simultaneously conducting attacks against people at political gatherings, how does this make sense? If they’re attending political gatherings, wouldn’t free elections actually be what they want? Oh I almost forgot; he wants to be like bin Laden, so he’s required to be an absolute hypocrite. Politics in Pakistan have always been corrupt and are in need of major reform, there’s no debate there. However, corrupt feudal politics beats the alternative of an illiterate, hobbit-looking jihadist like Ihsan telling Pakistanis they can’t use toothpaste since the Prophet Mohammad didn’t.
Ihsan said the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan “is following the international agenda of Sheikh Osama bin Laden” and is “upholding his ideology.” The Pakistani Taliban would continue to fight until a global Caliphate is established, he claimed.
I would take this threat VERY seriously. They are telling us that they are about to go global.
@ Mr. Nobody
“I would take this threat VERY seriously. They are telling us that they are about to go global.”
TTP (Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan) is already a global threat considering it produced Faisal Shahzad, who was “…a Pakistani Taliban operative, attempted to detonate a car bomb in New York City’s Times Square. The bomb failed to detonate due to triggering issues. Had the bomb detonated, it is thought that dozens of civilians would have been killed in the blast” (Roggio); Mr. Roggio has also noted that the TTP has been added to State Department’s list of foreign terror organizations.
We have to put into context in which Ihsanullah Ihsahn is spewing this TTP propaganda, the context being the anniversary of bin Laden’s death, or the “…the darkest day in Pakistani history”. Now I’m not saying that you’re wrong in regards to taking TTP’s threats seriously, but this, in my humble opinion, is nothing more a media reminder to it’s Arab allies in al-Qa’ida that it will continue to aid their ‘global jihad’ in regards to giving them shelter in the FATA (or the tribal Agencies that TTP has intimidated or dominated through force and violence) and supplying indigenous fighters into their rank-and-file to combat ‘Pakistani and American’ collusion (I’m surprised India wasn’t mentioned to shore up the Holy trinity of Infidelity in this specific region).
Ihsanullah, a spokesman mind you, is a mouth piece of the TTP who is also most likely lobbying Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries to keep writing blank checks to fund the Arabs (the al-Qa’ida constituency in the region), which in turn would help TTP’s ‘regional and impending global jihad’. Funding from Muslim NGO’s would also further entrench the ‘Wahhabi-Deobandisation’ of the tribal Agency’s that are controlled by TTP.
Yes, the Times Square bombing attempt should serve as a reminder that the TTP does have the desire, if not the competent assets to strike here in the United States. However, with our forces drawing down in Afghanistan the desire to strike at a retreating United States here at home may be greater than before, adding some insult to injury. Throw on a little revenge for killing their emir to boot. There are significant indicators around the globe that AQ inspired jihadists are becoming more active. You can only do so much with a drone. What do we really know about AQ’s restructuring, partners and plans in the post UBL period?