The Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021 was a watershed moment for various jihadist groups in South and Central Asia. It provided many of them with a victory template.

Pakistani militant networks were particularly reenergized by this development. Among other things, the Taliban’s organizational and battlefield discipline, despite the group’s decentralized nature, motivated Pakistani militant groups to overcome internal differences, forge alliances, and woo smaller factions to join their networks to forge a unified front.

In the case of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), for instance, chief Noor Wali Mehsud not only reabsorbed his group’s splinter factions but also mended fences with Lashkar-e-Islam (LeI) and the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group (HGBG). In 2024, he even invited them to merge with the TTP, although these negotiations remained inconclusive.

Nevertheless, inter-group cooperation between these groups has continued at the tactical and operational levels.

Being the larger group, the TTP has been more successful than the HGBG in attracting militants from other factions into its fold, including those from the latter. For instance, Aleem Khan and Ali Dawar, HGBG commanders from North Waziristan, joined the TTP in December 2020 and January 2025, respectively.

With Dawar joining the group, the TTP’s influence will extend to North Waziristan, the HGBG’s stronghold and birthplace. Following his inclusion, the TTP has urged other militant factions to join it under its “one group, one emir” strategy to achieve its goal of transforming Pakistan into a Taliban-like “Islamic Emirate.”

In a fluid and multi-actor threat environment, side-switching is frequent where militant factions are always in search of the highest bidder.........

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