Who is Noor Wali Mehsud? The elusive TTP Chief at the heart of Pakistan-Afghanistan tensions

Noor Wali Mehsud

After violent border clashes that left dozens dead and many injured, Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire on October 15. However, Islamabad continues to accuse Noor Wali Mehsud, the leader of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), of orchestrating near-daily attacks on its soil from across the border.

Pakistan’s primary concern remains the continued presence of Mehsud and his top commanders inside Afghanistan.

According to Pakistani security officials, an airstrike in Kabul targeted an armored Toyota Land Cruiser believed to be carrying Noor Wali Mehsud. Both Pakistani officials and militant sources suggest he likely survived, as the TTP released an audio message purportedly from him shortly after.

Pakistan has not officially claimed responsibility for the strike, the first in Kabul since the 2022 U.S. drone operation that killed Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Meanwhile, TTP chief Noor Wali Mehsud appears in video denying reports of his death, accuses Pakistan of running a “deliberate disinformation campaign.”

The Taliban government in Kabul denies harboring Pakistani militants, instead accusing Islamabad of sheltering members of the Islamic State Khorasan Province (IS-KP), its chief rival.

What's in the video? 

Noor Wali Mehsud appeared in a recent video, denying claims by the Pakistani Army and media that he was killed in the October 9 blast in Kabul. He said the reports are propaganda, clarifying that he is in the Khyber region and not Afghanistan.

Mehsud urged his followers to continue their jihad and not be swayed by Pakistan’s “evil army,” emphasizing the importance of treating people well. He strongly rejected claims of his death and presence in Afghanistan, calling them false.

Who is Noor Wali Mehsud? 

Noor Wali Mehsud took charge of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in 2018 after U.S. drone strikes killed his three predecessors. By then, Pakistani military campaigns had forced much of the group out of its tribal bases and into Afghanistan.

Blending militant ideology with Pashtun nationalism, Mehsud has sought to frame his insurgency as part of a historical struggle. He has written multiple works, including a 700-page book that links the TTP’s armed campaign to anti-colonial resistance against British rule.

According to Abdul Sayed, an independent expert on regional militancy, “Mehsud continues his efforts to reshape the group into an armed movement fighting, as he claims, for the rights of Pashtun tribespeople, in pursuit of a government system similar to that of the Afghan Taliban.”

Analysts credit Mehsud with reviving and reorganizing the TTP, consolidating splinter groups, and redefining its operational and ideological strategy. A trained cleric, he has used religious arguments to justify militancy and strengthen internal cohesion.

Pakistani officials argue that the Taliban’s 2021 return to power in Kabul gave the TTP greater freedom of movement and access to weapons, fueling a surge in attacks, particularly across the country’s northwest frontier.

Once infamous for mass-casualty attacks on civilians, such as the 2014 Peshawar school massacre that killed over 130 children, the group under Mehsud has reportedly shifted its focus toward security forces to mitigate public outrage.

In a rare video address earlier this year, Mehsud accused Pakistan’s military of “hijacking the people of Pakistan for the last 78 years,” claiming it had become “anti-Islam” and deeply involved in politics.

Pakistan’s army rejects his assertions, accusing the TTP of exploiting religion to justify violence and alleging that the group receives support from India, a charge New Delhi firmly denies.