Pakistan, June 26 — In recent days, an old threat has resurfaced under a new disguise. The group once known as Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), now more accurately unmasked by the people as Fitnah al-Khawarij (FAK), has issued yet another statement-this time pretending to stand for the very people they have long brutalized. Swat, a valley once soaked in the blood of innocents during FAK’s reign of terror, is now being serenaded with hollow claims of care and protection. This is psychological warfare. They believe soft words can erase the screams and the graves. But the people remember too well: the silence of classrooms, the ruins of homes, the grief in funeral prayers, and the persistent fear that haunted every sunrise. No rhetoric can rewrite that lived history.
FAK’s carefully crafted messages are nothing but a polished version of their old deception. Their narrative blames the state, the army- everyone but themselves- for the very destruction they orchestrated. Their cruelty was never selective-schools, mosques, markets, forests, and even hospitals bore the brunt of their rage. Their “jihad” always looked like fasad: chaos, bloodshed, and fear. Today, they want to look like victims. But Swat remembers. Pakistan remembers.
They speak in the name of Islam, but Islam condemns them. They bombed mosques and killed worshippers mid-prayer, an act no true Muslim could ever justify. Islam protects innocent life-Qur’an 5:32 makes it clear that the murder of one soul is akin to killing all humanity. FAK violated that sanctity repeatedly. The Prophet Muhammad ? prohibited the killing of women, children, and non-combatants even in war. The massacre at APS Peshawar stands as eternal, damning testimony to their depravity. FAK’s victims included children in school uniforms, teachers with chalk in hand, and mothers with babies in their arms. There is no Islamic justification for these atrocities-only a twisted manipulation of faith.
True Islam is Salaam – Peace (Quran 8:61); FAK glorifies perpetual war. The Prophet (PBUH) forgave his fiercest enemies; FAK knows only the poison of revenge. True faith protects neighbors; the Prophet taught a believer cannot sleep full while their neighbor starves (Sunan Ibn Majah). FAK’s bombs create orphans and widows, violating this sacred trust. Even the very Deobandi scholarly tradition some falsely associate them with has condemned them unequivocally. FAK’s response? Branding these respected scholars “apostates” – exposing the toxic takfirism that mainstream Islam, from Al-Azhar to Darul Uloom Deoband, utterly rejects.
Their targeting of teachers and schools exposes their deepest fear: knowledge. A literate child is their enemy, because a thinking mind cannot be ruled by fear. FAK thrives in ignorance, and that’s why they fight education like it’s a battlefield. Their attacks on polio workers and healthcare teams further reveals their true nature-not protectors of religion, but enemies of progress and humanity.
Every time Pakistan builds something, be it a road, a school, or a health center , FAK rushes to sabotage it. They fear a strong, united, educated Pakistan because it leaves no room for their propaganda. Their war is not for Islam; it is against development. Not for justice, but for control. Their mission is not reform, but regression.
Islam teaches unity, mercy, justice, and the sanctity of life. FAK’s ideology is the opposite. They do not spare even their own people in the tribal belt. The same soil that nurtured centuries of honor and hospitality has been drenched with blood because of their betrayal. Displacement, division, and destruction now mark the legacy they leave behind in tribal areas once rich in cultural pride.
The 2018 Paigham-e-Pakistan fatwa, signed by over 1,800 scholars from every school of thought in Pakistan, declared FAK’s actions not just haram but as clear violations of Islamic law. The Qur’an forbids transgression in war (2:190) and describes sowing terror and bloodshed as fasad fil-ardh (5:33)-corruption on earth. That is what FAK stands for: corruption, not faith.
Even their takfiri ideology-declaring fellow Muslims as kafir-mirrors the historical Khawarij, the very rebels the Prophet ? warned us about. These are not mujahideen. They are extremists who wage war not only against the state, but against Islam itself. While Pakistan’s constitution declares sovereignty belongs to Allah and upholds Sharia principles, FAK rejects this and wages war against it. This is rebellion, not jihad.
Meanwhile, FAK’s leadership enjoys security and luxury, while the ordinary Pakistani suffers in fear. Their weapons and rhetoric serve external enemies who seek to destabilize Pakistan from within. Their propaganda machinery circulates fake news to paint themselves as oppressed-while their hands remain stained with the blood of children, laborers, elders, and security personnel. They claim to be defending Islam. But in truth, they disgrace it.
Let’s be clear: standing with FAK means standing against Pakistan, against Islam, and against humanity. No amount of spin can change that. The people of Pakistan, especially those who have endured FAK’s wrath firsthand, know the truth. And while the group may change names and tactics, its core remains unchanged: a force of terror disguised in religious clothing.
No statement, however cunningly worded, can cleanse the blood from their hands. Do not be deceived by the change in script. Beneath the veneer of concern lies the same rotting core dedicated to sabotage, terror, and the systematic suffocation of Pakistan’s hope. The people of Pakistan will not be fooled. We will build our schools, finish our roads, protect our health workers, and tell our children the truth about Fitnah al-Khawarij. Their era of fear must not return. Their lies must be rejected. And their violence must be called by its true name: fasad, not jihad.
