Overview
Hafiz Dawlat Khan was a senior leader of the U.S.-designated Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).Munir Ahmed, “Officials: Pakistani militant leader killed in Afghanistan,” ABC News, August 8, 2022, https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/officials-pakistani-militant-leader-killed-afghanistan-88091274. TTP is a Pakistan-based terror group that is the conglomerate of around 40 tribal and non-tribal Pakistani militant groups fighting against the state of Pakistan, Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K), and U.S.-led coalition forces.Amira Jadoon, “Allied & Lethal: Islamic State Khorasan’s Network and Organizational Capacity in Afghanistan and Pakistan,” Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, December 2018, https://ctc.usma.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Allied-Lethal-final.pdf; Amira Jadoon, “The Evolution and Potential Resurgence of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan,” United States Institute of Peace, May 2021, https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/2021-05/sr_494-the_evolution_and_potential_resurgence_of_the_tehrik_i_taliban_pakistan.pdf. On August 8, 2022, Khan was killed in a roadside explosion in Paktika province, Afghanistan.Mushtaq Yusufzai and Jennifer Jett, “Pakistani militant leader with $3 million U.S. bounty killed in Afghanistan, sources say,” NBC News, August 9, 2022, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/pakistan-militant-leader-killed-afghanistan-rcna42155.
Khan was TTP’s emir of Kurram province.“Public Annex B,” International Criminal Court, September 2, 2018, https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/RelatedRecords/CR2018_00961.PDF. However, in October 2014, five TTP regional emirs, including Khan, reportedly left the group and joined ISIS’s new branch in Pakistan—Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K). The emirs reportedly opposed peace talks with Islamabad.Bill Roggio, “Pakistani Taliban emir for Bajaur joins Islamic State,” Long War Journal, February 2, 2015, https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2015/02/pakistani_taliban_em.php. It is unclear when Khan realigned with the TTP, or if he ever did.
On August 8, 2022, a roadside bomb detonated in Paktika province, eastern Afghanistan, killing Khan and three other TTP militants, including Hassan Ali, Mufti Hassan Swati, and Hafiz Daulat. The TTP claimed Pakistani intelligence agents were responsible for the explosion.Pamela Constable, “Top Pakistani Taliban leader killed in Afghanistan; Shiites targeted in Kabul,” Washington Post, August 8, 2022, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/08/08/pakistan-taliban-leader-strike-afghanistan-shiite; Munir Ahmed, “Officials: Pakistani militant leader killed in Afghanistan,” ABC News, August 8, 2022, https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/officials-pakistani-militant-leader-killed-afghanistan-88091274.
Associated Groups
- Extremist entity
- Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)
- Read Threat Report
- Type(s) of Organization:
- Insurgent, regional, terrorist, transnational, violent
- Ideologies and Affiliations:
- Deobandi, Islamist, jihadist, Pashtun, Salafi, Sunni, Wahhabi
- Position(s):
- Emir, Kurram province
The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021 after previously leading a violent insurgency in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The group is closely affiliated with al-Qaeda.
History
Daily Dose
Extremists: Their Words. Their Actions.
Fact:
On May 8, 2019, Taliban insurgents detonated an explosive-laden vehicle and then broke into American NGO Counterpart International’s offices in Kabul. At least seven people were killed and 24 were injured.