Though it has informal origins dating back to the 1970s, Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) was officially established in 1994 as a result of insurgencies in the Malakand District against the Pakistani judicial system.[2] The group fights violently for Islamic influence in the Pakistani courts in the hopes of establishing a proper Islamic state.[3] Following the siege of the Red Mosque (Lal Masjid) in Islamabad in 2007, TNSM is believed to have merged with TTP.[4] Since then, TNSM fighters have actively waged war in Islamabad’s Swat Valley to extend the reach of its extreme variant of Sharia law.[5]

The group has multiple leaders, including one who goes by the alias Mullah Radio and another named Sufi Mohammed.[6] The TNSM numbered approximately 25,000 in May 1994, although its strength has decreased since then.[7] The government of the United Kingdom alleges that the group has provided direct support to al-Qa’ida and the Taliban, although the exact nature of this support is unknown.[8] Pakistan typically focuses its counterterrorism efforts primarily on military operations in Bajur and Swat, and the United States is modifying its military strategy into a more aggressive one.[9] View full narrative