AnsarPress; Following Pakistan`s airstrike on Thursday night targeting specific locations in Kabul, Afghanistan`s capital, reports have emerged that the intended target was Noor Wali Mehsud, the leader of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

After explosions were heard in Kabul, Taliban officials confirmed an explosion had occurred, but declined to share any details about its target or exact location.

Shortly afterward, voice recordings leaked from Taliban WhatsApp groups confirmed that the blast was the result of an airstrike on a Toyota Land Cruiser near Abdul Haq Square in Kabul.

Subsequent reports from journalists and social media users linked to Pakistani intelligence confirmed that Pakistan carried out the strike, identifying Noor Wali Mehsud as the intended target.

A day later, the Taliban`s Ministry of Defense confirmed that Pakistan had conducted an air attack on Kabul, though no further information about the objectives or casualties was released.

A Pakistani military spokesperson also indirectly acknowledged the strike but provided no details on its goals.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that Noor Wali Mehsud survived the attack but was seriously injured. A voice message allegedly belonging to him, recorded at the same time and date as the strike, was later published in which he claimed to be alive and in good health.

Who Is Noor Wali Mehsud?

Noor Wali Mehsud was born in 1978 in the Tirza area of South Waziristan, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan.

He belongs to the Machikhel sub-tribe of the Mehsud Pashtun clan, native to the South Waziristan region.

Mehsud completed his early education at Siddiqia Madrasa, and during the 1990s he studied in several religious seminaries, including:

Jamia Imdadia, Jamia Halimia, Jamia Farooq-e-Azam in Faisalabad, Jamia Nusrat-ul-Uloom in Gujranwala, and Jamia Ahsan-ul-Uloom and Jamia Yaseen-ul-Quran in Karachi.

Around 1996-1997, his studies were interrupted when he traveled to Afghanistan to join the Taliban and their allied jihadist forces in fighting against Ahmad Shah Massoud`s Northern Alliance.

After the Taliban`s first takeover of Afghanistan, and upon his father Haji Gul Shah Khan`s advice, he returned to Pakistan to complete his religious education. He graduated in 1999 with the title of "Mufti."

Educated in Deobandi seminaries, Mehsud`s religious beliefs are deeply aligned with the Taliban`s ideology in Afghanistan.

In his detailed book, *Inqilab Mehsud* ("The Mehsud Revolution"), he describes Pakistan`s secular legal system as "un-Islamic" and defines armed jihad as a religious duty.

Leadership of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)

Known also as Abu Mansoor Asim, Noor Wali Mehsud previously served as a Sharia judge and later as head of the Karachi chapter of the TTP.

After the death of Maulana Fazlullah in a U.S. drone strike in 2018, the TTP`s leadership council appointed Noor Wali Mehsud as the group`s new emir (leader).

Upon assuming leadership, Mehsud sought to reorganize the fragmented TTP, reunifying splinter factions such as Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and Hizb-ul-Ahrar under one command.

Amid growing criticism of civilian casualties caused by TTP attacks, he shifted the group`s focus toward targeting Pakistani security forces instead of civilians.

In 2019, the United States designated Noor Wali Mehsud as a global terrorist, and the United Nations Security Council later imposed sanctions on him.

According to a 2023 report by the Combating Terrorism Center (CTC), under Mehsud`s leadership, the TTP has transformed from a dispersed militant network into a more cohesive and strategically organized group, with fewer random attacks on civilians.

Mehsud and the Taliban in Afghanistan

Noor Wali Mehsud maintains a longstanding and close relationship with the Afghan Taliban, both ideologically and operationally.

As noted earlier, he joined the Taliban in 1996-1997, fighting alongside them against the Northern Alliance, and since then, his ties with the Afghan Taliban have been "brotherly and enduring."

Following the Taliban`s return to power in Afghanistan in 2021, these relations grew even stronger, leading to increased coordination between the two groups, including joint operations and cross-border attacks in Pakistan.

The United Nations has confirmed that the TTP and the Afghan Taliban share an ideological alliance and continue to cooperate operationally.

The 2023 UN Security Council Sanctions Monitoring Report described their relationship as "close and symbiotic," noting that the TTP uses safe havens in Afghanistan to plan and launch attacks on targets inside Pakistan.

A joint study by Abdul Sayed and Tore Hamming, published in the CTC Sentinel (West Point`s Combating Terrorism Center), found that since 2021, the TTP has acquired advanced weaponry, restructured its command, and moved its fighters freely across the Afghan-Pakistani border.

Pakistani government agencies have also confirmed a sharp increase in domestic violence and terrorist activity since the Taliban`s takeover of Afghanistan, attributing it to TTP militants operating from Afghan soil with support from the Afghan Taliban and alleged Indian backing.

Pakistani authorities have repeatedly demanded that the Taliban prevent their territory from being used against Pakistan, warning that Islamabad`s patience is wearing thin.

Following Kabul`s inaction in response to these warnings, Pakistan ultimately decided to strike the Afghan capital, aiming to eliminate Noor Wali Mehsud.

Although the attack was reportedly unsuccessful and the target has not been officially confirmed, it signals that Pakistan will not hesitate to conduct further military operations inside Afghanistan if the Taliban continue to shelter the TTP.

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