"Ahmed Marwat: The Mysterious Militant Mastermind of Jundullah, Pakistan"

Ahmed Marwat: The Mysterious Militant Mastermind of Jundullah, Pakistan

Animesh Roul

In Pakistan’s dangerously diverse universe of Islamic extremism, the name Jundullah (also Jundallah) and this militant group’s notorious commander-spokesperson Ahmed Marwat (a.k.a. Ahmedullah or Fahad Marwat) are synonymous with violence against minorities, indiscriminate attacks on foreigners and social workers and targeted assaults against Pakistan’s powerful intelligence agencies or army. Both the commander and his organization also exude a sense of mystery as given the veil of secrecy surrounding Jundullah’s operational and organizational details along with unusual claims, and sometimes conflicting ones, on attacks that can surpass the lethality of similar local sectarian jihadist organizations like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ).

The details about early life and indoctrination of Ahmed Marwat are few; it is unclear if he is using this name as a nom de guerre. It is highly possible that he is the chief of the organization and leading small but robust militant units. The absence of his real identity or information regarding his background or whereabouts notwithstanding, some of the violent events claimed by Marwat on behalf of Jundullah sheds light on the focus and objective of his group. An open source estimation shows Marwat and Jundullah have claimed at least 20 attacks in Pakistan since 2012; these attacks have targeted Shi’as, Christians, tourists and civil society workers, and most of the time, Marwat’s claims conflict with other militant groups’. These conflicting claims suggest the desperation of Marwat and Jundullah to spearhead sectarian violence in Pakistan. 

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Militant Leadership Monitor, June 2015. http://mlm.jamestown.org (Subscription)