Power Struggle in Bajaur and Rise of Mullah Dadullah

Mullah Dadullah

The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) continues to grab attention due to its ever changing dynamics, whether it is its association with Al-Qaeda and attempts to conduct acts of international terrorism, or internal power struggle between its leadership. While the Waziristan region remains in the limelight in this respect, the Bajaur Agency in recent months has assumed similar important due to an intense power struggle between its senior Taliban leaders – Maulana Faqir Muhammad and Mullah Dadullah. While Bajaur Agency is quite smaller in size (1,290 sq/km) compared to North Waziristan (4,707 sq/km) and South Waziristan Agency (6,620 sq/km), it carries more strategic significance due to its proximity to Peshawar (provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (KP) of Pakistan) and Kabul (capital of Afghanistan). Similarly, Bajaur is the most populated Agency of the entire Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), with a total population of 595,227 compared to the combined population of both North and South Waziristan which is computed at 791,267. The population density in Bajaur is 461 persons per sq/km compared to 77 persons per sq/km in North Waziristan and 61 persons per sq/km in South Waziristan. [1]