Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group

After the subsequent invasion of Afghanistan, many militants including that of the Afghan Taliban, al-Qaeda and other Central Asian groups from Afghanistan fled to northwest Pakistan, where Bahadur was one of many tribal leaders who gave them refuge. Due to their lingering allegiance to Pakistan, the alliance broke down shortly after its formation, with HGB's relations remaining strained with the TTP. Bahadur opposed US drone strikes within Pakistan, threatening to pull out of their agreement with the government after the Datta Khel airstrike on 17 March 2011 which killed HGB commander Sherabat Khan Wazir. HGB's peace treaty with Pakistan eventually came to an end in May 2014 after they accused the government of violating their treaty with the launch of Operation Zarb-e-Azb. The group announced the shifting of all operations out of Afghanistan and into Pakistan and forced members to sever ties with the Pakistani government by 10 June. Significantly weakened by the operation, HGB and many other TTP elements fled to Afghanistan. On 28 June 2025, a suicide car bombing targeted a Pakistan Army convoy in Mir Ali, North Waziristan, resulting in the deaths of 13 to 16 soldiers and injuring numerous others, including civilians. The attack took place during an active curfew and was claimed by a suicide wing of Hafiz Gul Bahadur’s faction, which operates under the umbrella of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). While the Pakistani government initially blamed India, the claim made by Bahadur’s group and reported by AFP clearly attributed the attack to domestic insurgent activity, reinforcing his faction’s ongoing involvement in anti-state violence in the region. == Activity ==

2023 On 3 June, HGB and the TTP launched a joint attack on a security checkpoint in Jani Khel, Bannu, killing two soldiers and losing two members in a gunfight. On 26 November, a suicide bomber on a motorcycle attacked a security convoy in Bannu, killing two civilians and injuring three soldiers. The attacker was an Afghan citizen affiliated with HGB. 2024 On 16 March, HGB militants attacked a military post in North Waziristan, ramming a suicide car bomb into the post before starting a firefight. The attacked killed 7 soldiers and 6 HGB fighters. On 15 July, HGB carried out an attack on an army cantonment in Bannu which killed 8 soldiers and wounded 141 people. The attackers utilized a suicide bomber to breach the cantonment walls before gunmen stormed the base. On 9 August, HGB launched three attacks on different military posts in Tirah along the Afghan border, killing three Pakistani soldiers and wounding dozens while suffering four casualties. 2025 On 28 June, a suicide car bombing targeted a military convoy in Mir Ali, North Waziristan, killing between 13 and 16 soldiers and wounding many others, including civilians. The attack occurred during a curfew, and HGB claimed responsibility for the bombing. On 12 April, Lashkar-e-Islam, Harakat-e-Inqilab-e-Islami and Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group announces new outfit ‘Ittihad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan’ in collaboration with TTP. == Jaish-e-Fursan-e-Muhammad ==

Jaish-e-Fursan-e-Muhammad (JFM) is a subgroup of HGB that was seemingly formed in 2024 for the purpose of fighting Pakistani security forces. JFM is believed to be a front for HGB, in line with the TTP's usage of front groups such as Tehreek-e-Jihad, in order to claim plausible deniability for attacks in Pakistan. The group has claimed multiple attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including the Bannu Cantonment attack. == Designation as a terrorist group ==

The group was designated a terrorist organization by Pakistan on 31 July 2024. ==Hafiz Gul Bahadur==

Hafiz Gul Bahadur (Urdu: حافظ گل بہادر, born c.1961) hails from the Madda Khel clan of the Utmanzai Wazir and was raised in a village in North Waziristan. He was also a leader of the student wing of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal (JUI-F) in North Waziristan, receiving attention in 2001 for recruiting a militia of 4,000 in opposition to United Nations monitors who were set to deploy along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in order to prevent flow of weapons to the Afghan Taliban. The deployment didn't occur due to the September 11 attacks. In 2005 the Pakistani military began operations within North Waziristan to pursue foreign, mainly al-Qaeda, militants fleeing from South Waziristan. They met resistance from militant groups led by Hafiz Gul Bahadur, among others. During late 2007 and early 2008, Bahadur refused to assist Baitullah Mehsud against the Pakistani Army and urged him to refrain from fighting Pakistani forces in Razmak, North Waziristan. Upon the formation of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in December 2007, he was announced as the militant group's overall naib amir under Baitullah Mehsud, who was based in South Waziristan, but has largely distanced himself from the TTP due to rivalries with Mehsud and disagreements about the TTP's attacks against the Pakistani state. In 2014 conflicting reports suggest that air strikes conducted in Datta Khel Tehsil of North Waziristan Agency have killed key commanders of the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group including Gul Bahadur. Following the Fall of Kabul (2021), the Gul Bahadur Network’s ties to the Haqqani network and TTP have significantly improved, resulting in a sharp increase in cross border militant incursions along the Pakistan-Afghanistan international border. Hafiz Gul Bahadur is closely allied with Sirajuddin Haqqani and provides him with a rear base in North Waziristan. Anti-American Taliban are headed by Gul Bahadur and Haqqani network. Pakistani outlets claimed to have eliminated Hafiz Gul Bahadur and Noor Wali Mehsud in October 2025 , however both later released proof of life addressing the alleged airstrikes that killed them. ==See also==