Tehreek Nifaz-e-Shariat Mohammadi is a Pakistani militant group whose goal is to enforce Shariah law in the Malakand Division of Pakistan, a region including Swat valley.
Maulana Sufi Muhammad established the group in 1994.[3] The group had been advocating for the implementation of Shariah law for several years but was able to become an active political player after a 1994 Supreme Court case rejected the legality of some parts of the Provincially Administered Tribal Areas Regulations - parts that overturned the previous removal of judicial authority from local areas.[4] This decision tacitly supported the aims of groups such as TNSM, aims that included judicial reform.[5] With the return of judicial authority to the locals in the spring of 1994, the TNSM decided to use this opening as an opportunity to gain further regional authority. In November 1994, the group also launched an armed campaign in which it forcefully took over many government functions in Swat valley.[6] The group then established its own highly bureaucratic organizational structure.[7]
Due to its support of speedy justice and equality of classes, TNSM enjoys a support base among the lower classes in the region.[8] It recruits supporters and funding using FM radio broadcasts.[9]
The group pushed for a series of judicial reforms favoring Shariah law in their region.[10] TNSM promotes boycotts of local elections among its supporters, portraying the Pakistani government as Western-imposed.[11] With the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, Sufi Muhammad led 10,000 TNSM fighters to aid the Taliban.[12] The group enjoyed considerable success of its objectives in its region because the governor of the Khyber Pakhtunkwha province, Iftikhar Hussain Shah, ordered loyalty to the group regarding their Taliban excursion, and officials across the provincial government and law enforcement agencies also harbored loyalties to the TNSM.[13]
In 2009, TNSM increased its hold on Swat valley with another offensive involving 4,000 TNSM militants.[14] Under international pressure, the Pakistani government responded by sending 30,000 troops to try to reverse TNSM’s offensive.[15] Pakistan also arrested Sufi Muhammad, ostensibly for inciting violence during the time he encouraged followers to participate in the US-Taliban conflict.[16] Muhammad’s son-in-law, Maulana Fazlullah took over leadership of the TNSM.[17] Sufi Muhammad negotiated a truce with Pakistan over the conflict in Swat valley, in which the TNSM agreed to a two-year cease fire in return for implementation of Shariah law.[18] The truce was viewed internationally as acquiescence to TNSM ideology.[19] The TNSM has continued to destroy hundreds of schools providing education for girls as it moves towards its goal of Shariah law, but some question its continuing strength after the leadership exchange in 2009.[20]
