Abdul Basit
Since 2021, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has reformed its organisational structure every year – imitating the Taliban’s insurgency model – to recruit, radicalise, and incite violence. TTP has paid particular close attention to managing its information warfare. The terror group meticulously disseminates ideological narratives to defend its militant campaign in Pakistan and rebut the Pakistani state’s efforts to undermine its legitimacy by labelling it as Fitna Al-Khawarij (the menace of Islamist seceders).
At the same time, by carefully infusing jihadist rhetoric with Pashtun nationalism, TTP seeks to position itself as the self-appointed defender of tribal rights along the Afghanistan-Pakistan borderland. This attempt to appropriate ethnic identity for militant legitimacy, however, is widely rejected by most Pashtuns.
To sustain its narrative in the face of such rejection, TTP relies heavily on its propaganda arm, Umar Media. It plays a strategic role in influencing public opinion on politically charged issues such as Pakistan’s Afghan policy, the treatment of Afghan refugees, and US-Pakistan relations. By presenting itself as a political and ideological voice for disaffected communities, TTP seeks to obscure its violent tactics behind a façade of resistance and representation.
Against this backdrop, this Insight will discuss Umar Media’s evolution, content, and expansion. It will then examine the latest propaganda campaigns the group has conducted on social media and encrypted messaging platforms. The last section will discuss the implications of TTP’s propaganda warfare and outline some policy measures to counter it.
Evolution and Main Contents of Umar Media
In 2006, Umar Studio, named after the Taliban’s founder, Mullah Muhammad Umar, began as a patchwork of propaganda channels recording and publishing videos of TTP’s militant campaigns. Until 2010, Umar Media’s propaganda material was distributed through CDs, DVDs and pamphlets.
The rise of the Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP) in 2015, challenging the Taliban’s ideological legitimacy, was a turning point for Umar Media. TTP responded with a 66-page Urdu rebuttal contesting ISKP’s claim to a global Sunni Caliphate (see Figure 1) and launched an Urdu-language magazine in 2016, publishing eight issues through 2020.
Umar Media’s latest reincarnation came in 2021 following the Afghan Taliban’s re-takeover. Since then, it has regularly published its monthly magazine with notable improvements in design and content. Two additional magazines in Pashto and Urdu, including one focusing on women, have also been introduced. The women’s periodical features interviews with commanders’ wives to attract female sympathisers.
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