Confusion has surrounded the claim of responsibility for the recent terrorist attack on the Police Training School in Dera Ismail Khan after the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) first accepted and then swiftly denied involvement, while a previously unknown militant group, identifying itself as the Tehreek-e-Islamic Force (TIF), has now emerged to claim responsibility.
The TTP’s media wing initially issued a statement asserting responsibility for the assault carried out by its so-called “fidayeen” squad on the Police Training School in Ratta Kulachi, which resulted in the martyrdom of three police personnel and elimination of six Khawarij. However, within hours, another statement surfaced on the same channels, this time disassociating the group from the attack and terming the previous announcement “unauthorised.”
Amid these contradictory claims, a new organization calling itself Tehreek-e-Islamic Force (TIF) released a separate statement on social media, through an individual identifying as Mufti Abu Khalid Usmani, claiming full responsibility for the assault. The statement described the attack as “revenge against state security institutions,” and praised the attackers as “mujahideen of TIF.” The announcement marks the first public appearance of this group, which had no prior record of activity or presence in Pakistan’s militant landscape.
Security officials are closely examining the TIF’s claim and its possible links with splinter elements of the banned TTP or other transnational jihadist networks operating in the region. Intelligence sources believe the emergence of the new outfit could indicate an internal rift or rebranding within extremist circles following sustained counterterrorism operations and leadership losses.
Senior police officers in Dera Ismail Khan confirmed that forensic and intelligence investigations are under way to trace the network behind the attack and to determine whether the so-called Tehreek-e-Islamic Force represents a genuine new group or an alias being used to obscure the involvement of an existing militant faction.
Inspector General of Police Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Zulfiqar Hameed, reaffirmed that security forces are fully alert and committed to eradicating the menace of terrorism in all its forms. He said the operation in Dera Ismail Khan had successfully thwarted a major catastrophe through the timely and courageous response of the police. “Our investigation will unmask those behind the attack, regardless of what name or organization they hide under,” the IGP said.
The Dera Ismail Khan incident — one of the most significant terrorist attempts in recent months has raised fresh concerns about evolving militant dynamics and the potential reconfiguration of networks along Pakistan’s western border. Security analysts have warned that newly emerging entities often represent restructured versions of older groups, created to evade proscription and renew recruitment or propaganda campaigns.
Authorities have tightened security in sensitive areas across southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and are conducting intelligence-based operations to track down facilitators and financiers linked to the attack. Officials have reiterated that Pakistan’s security forces remain resolute in dismantling all networks involved in terrorism, regardless of their name, origin, or affiliation.
