Pakistan’s military has been caught in a lie following the surfacing of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Noor Wali Mehsud in a new video. Islamabad had claimed that Mehsud was eliminated in a Kabul explosion on October 9, but this video unequivocally proves him to be alive and well.
In the video, Mehsud, speaking from an undisclosed location within Pakistan, directly accused the Pakistan Army of spreading false information about his death. He characterized it as a deliberate propaganda effort to deceive Pakistani citizens and the world, suggesting that Pakistan is winning its war on terror when the ground situation tells a different story. Mehsud also claimed to have visual proof of the TTP’s substantial territorial influence within Pakistan.
Noor Wali Mehsud took command of the TTP in 2018 after the deaths of his predecessors. He has since been credited with revitalizing the organization by uniting fragmented factions and intensifying the insurgency. This period has seen a significant rise in terror attacks across Pakistan, especially in the northwestern tribal regions bordering Afghanistan, reigniting fears of violence akin to the 2014 Peshawar school massacre.
This incident amplifies concerns about Pakistan’s internal security and its reliability in combating terrorism. Meanwhile, Pakistan continues to falsely accuse India of supporting the TTP, a charge India has consistently rejected. Many observers view Mehsud’s reappearance as a direct consequence of Pakistan’s failure to curb terrorism domestically and a challenge to its international stance on terror sponsorship.
The TTP leader’s survival is revealed in the context of recent intense clashes between Afghanistan and Pakistan. These conflicts erupted after Pakistan launched airstrikes on October 9 in Afghanistan, reportedly targeting Mehsud. In response, Afghan Taliban forces attacked several Pakistani border posts, leading to retaliatory drone strikes by Pakistan in Afghan territory.