Turkistan Bhittani or Turkestan Bettani ( – 23 December 2019) was the militant leader of a pro-

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

faction based in the town of

Tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engin ...

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the northwestern region of the country, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ...

province of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. He is notable for his opposition to the

Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan The Pakistani Taliban (), formally called the Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan (Urdu/ ps, , lit=Student Movement of Pakistan, TTP), is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani bo ...

(TTP). Turkistan belongs to

Bettani The Bettani ( ps, بېټني), also spelled Baittani or Bhittani, is a Pashtun tribe located mostly in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Bettani are named after ''Shaykh Beṭ'', their legendary ancestor who is said to be the second son of Qais Abdur ...

tribe (also spelled Bhittani).

Background

During his teens, Bhittani joined in the anti-Soviet jihad in Afghanistan. Later, Turkistan served in the

Frontier Corps The Frontier Corps ( ur, , reporting name: FC), are a group of paramilitary forces of Pakistan, operating in the provinces of Balochistan (Pakistan), Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to maintain law and order while overseeing the country's ...

until his retirement in 1998. He then joined the Taliban in the

Afghan Civil War War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) *Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see als ...

and remained in 2001 to fight against US-led forces.

Challenge to the TTP

Although at one time he was allied to Baitullah Mehsud, Turkistan Bhittani disapproved of Baitullah's violent attacks against Pakistani citizens and security forces. After he lost about 40 of his men in clashes with Baitullah's forces in 2008, Turkistan joined anti-TTP forces. With the implicit support of the Pakistani military, he allied himself with

Qari Zainuddin Mehsud Qari Zainuddin Mehsud (died ), commonly known as Qari Zain, was a citizen of Pakistan, a member of the Mehsud tribe, and a leader of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP/Pakistani Taliban) in South Waziristan, one of Pakistan's Federally Administe ...

to openly challenge Baitullah. On 8 June 2009, Zainuddin and Turkistan held a

jirga A jirga ( ps, جرګه, ''jərga'') is an assembly of leaders that makes decisions by consensus according to Pashtunwali, the Pashtun social code. It is conducted in order to settle disputes among the Pashtuns, but also by members of other ethnic ...

Mehsud The Mahsud or Mehsood ( ps, محسود), also spelled Maseed ( ps, ماسيد), is a Karlani Pashtun tribe inhabiting mostly the South Waziristan Agency in the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan, now merged within Khyb ...

tribal elders during which Turkistan condemned Baitullah's methods and urged the elders to fight against the leader of the TTP if he did not end his attacks against civilians and begin negotiations with the government. After Zainuddin's death on 23 June 2009, Turkistan proclaimed willingness to work with the Pakistani army and American forces to combat the TTP.

References

1960s births 2019 deaths Taliban leaders People from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Date of birth missing Year of birth uncertain {{Pakistan-activist-stub