The killing of a Bengali-origin militant in a recent counter-terrorism operation has drawn attention to an unsettling development, the recruitment of Pakistani citizens of Bengali ethnicity by the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). This trend highlights the need for a deeper examination of why and how segments of this community become susceptible to radical ideologies.
This expansion is demonstrated by the April 2025 operation in North Waziristan, where 21-year-old Bangladeshi student Ahmad Zubair from Savar was among 71 militants killed, after having been radicalized through Tablighi Jamaat following his Umrah pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia in November 2024.
The pattern continues with other Bangladeshi nationals, including Ibrar and Ibn Taimiya, killed in separate operations, while at least eight more Bangladeshi youths currently fight with TTP, according to Saifullah, a Bangladeshi militant in Kabul who himself was injured in a December 2024 drone strike. International counter-terrorism operations have revealed the network’s global reach, with Bangladesh’s ATU arresting Muhammad Faisal and Shamin Mahfuz in July 2025 for TTP recruitment, while Malaysia detained 36 Bangladeshi citizens for terrorist activities involving cross-border training and digital financing for ISIS, and Italy arrested a Bangladeshi national spreading TTP ideology online.
Local reports from North Waziristan confirm the presence of both Bengali and Baloch militants, while digital monitoring shows extensive Bengali-language TTP propaganda on social media platforms, confirming the organization’s evolution into a multinational terrorist host that now poses threats beyond Pakistan to China, Russia, and Iran through established camps in Afghanistan and sophisticated online recruitment networks targeting vulnerable youth internationally.
TTP has long been adept at exploiting grievances, particularly in vulnerable urban populations, through targeted propaganda and recruitment strategies, both online and in-person.
Read More: Pakistan, China, Iran, Russia Urge Kabul to Curb Terrorism
Recent Incident: SSG Operation in Karkh District
In the last of September 2025, the Pakistan Army’s Special Service Group (SSG) launched a well-coordinated operation in Karkh district, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The operation targeted a TTP cell known for its involvement in recent attacks on security personnel and state installations.
Intelligence-based surveillance led the SSG to the hideout, where the militants were engaged in preparing for a future assault. The confrontation resulted in multiple militant fatalities, among them a figure of Bengali descent whose identity immediately elevated the case to national headlines.
The presence of a Bengali-origin militant within the TTP ranks raised urgent questions about cross-border recruitment pipelines, sleeper networks in urban centers, and the growing complexity of militant demographics in Pakistan.
Profile of the Militant: A Story of Deception and Radicalization
The slain militant’s identity has been pieced together through intelligence and family sources.
- Aliases and Identity: Known in extremist networks as Saad al-Muhajir, his real name was Faisal Hussain Morwal.
- Nationality and Roots: He traced his ancestry to Dath Khali village in Madaripur Sadar Upazila, Bangladesh, making him an ethnic Bengali by birth.
- Pakistani Connection: His family migrated to Karachi after the 1971 war, where thousands of Bengali-origin families settled, often facing socio-political marginalization but maintaining a distinct cultural presence.
- Personal Deception: To disguise his activities, Faisal misled his family by claiming he had traveled to Dubai for business purposes. His mother was under the impression that he was engaged in the perfume trade abroad.
- Civilian Background: Before radicalization, Faisal ran a small shop selling perfumes and religious items in Karachi, with no prior indications of militancy. His trajectory from shopkeeper to fighter underscores the deceptive and gradual nature of extremist recruitment.
Read More: Terrorism in Afghanistan: Rising Jihadist Threats and Human Atrocities
The Radicalization Path: From Shopkeeper to Militant
Faisal’s journey into militancy demonstrates how ordinary individuals can be absorbed into violent extremism through layered manipulation and deception.
- Initial Cover: Under the guise of pursuing economic opportunities abroad, he claimed to be seeking a livelihood in Dubai to support his family.
- Actual Route: His journey, however, followed a clandestine path used by recruiters—through Saudi Arabia and into Afghanistan, where TTP networks provided sanctuary and ideological grooming.
- Organizational Affiliation: In Afghanistan, Faisal pledged allegiance to the TTP, drawn in by its anti-state rhetoric and proximity to the Afghan Taliban’s ideological base.
- Family Discovery: The deception only unraveled when law enforcement officials visited his family in Karachi, informing them that their son had become a TTP recruit. The revelation came just six weeks before his death, shattering the family’s belief in his supposed life abroad.
| PHASE | WARNING SIGNS | PREVENTION MEASURES |
| Early Stage | Social withdrawal, Economic frustration | Community outreach, Economic opportunities |
| Middle Stage | Secretive behavior, Travel planning | Family counseling, Travel monitoring |
| Late Stage | Complete isolation, Digital silence | Intelligence gathering, Cross-border cooperation |
The conclusion of the operation left Faisal’s family devastated. In the aftermath, his relatives publicly appealed to Pakistani authorities to facilitate the repatriation of his body for burial rites. This plea illustrates the deeply human dimension of counter-terrorism operations, where behind every militant figure lies a family forced to reconcile with grief, stigma, and the consequences of radical choices.
Families of slain militants often seek to distance themselves from extremist associations, portraying their loved ones as misled victims rather than perpetrators, thereby complicating the broader societal discourse on accountability and rehabilitation.
The Broader Context: A Significant Bengali-Origin Population
The incident cannot be fully understood without reference to the demographic realities of Pakistan. An estimated two million people of Bengali origin reside in Pakistan, with large concentrations in Karachi, Hyderabad, and parts of Sindh. Many of these communities trace their migration back to the pre-1971 period.
Despite their numbers, they face challenges such as legal ambiguities regarding citizenship, limited access to education and jobs, and social marginalization. These vulnerabilities create openings for extremist recruiters, who offer not only ideological narratives but also a sense of belonging and empowerment.
While the overwhelming majority of Bengali-origin Pakistanis are peaceful and law-abiding, the radicalization of even a few underscores the need for proactive policies to integrate marginalized populations into the national mainstream and prevent their exploitation by militant groups.
Read More: Terrorism’s Second Wind in Pakistan
Media Coverage and the Narrative Battle
The case has drawn significant attention in both Pakistani and Bangladeshi media. Pakistani outlets emphasized the militant’s operational role and the success of the security forces, while Bangladeshi coverage focused more on his origins, identity, and the community’s reaction back home.
This divergence highlights the ongoing “narrative battle” surrounding such incidents. Families often attempt to recast militants as innocent victims of state aggression, while extremist networks amplify such portrayals to fuel grievances and encourage further recruitment.
The case of Faisal illustrates how militants are not only contested on the battlefield but also in the information domain, where media framing and public discourse can either strengthen or weaken counter-terrorism narratives.
What’s Next? The Strategic Shift in Militancy and Imperative for a Comprehensive Response
The case of Faisal Morwal signals a pivotal shift in Pakistan’s militant landscape, pointing toward a future where the TTP will increasingly exploit marginalized urban populations to diversify its ranks and expand its operational footprint. This evolution presents a multi-faceted challenge.
For security forces, it necessitates a recalibration of intelligence and counter-terrorism efforts beyond traditional tribal areas to monitor radicalization networks in vulnerable urban enclaves like Karachi’s Bengali-origin communities, and to disrupt international travel routes used for militant transit. Simultaneously, a fierce narrative battle will intensify in the media, where the TTP and its sympathizers will weaponize stories of marginalization and family grief to fuel recruitment, challenging state counter-narratives.
Critically, a purely security-focused approach will be insufficient. The core driver of this trend, the socio-economic and political marginalization of communities, demands a decisive policy response. The future stability of Pakistan’s urban centers hinges on the state’s ability to implement proactive integration policies, address citizenship ambiguities, and create tangible economic opportunities to dismantle the grievances that extremist groups so effectively exploit.
*The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of TDI.
Usman Anwar
Usman Anwar is a prospective M.Phil. scholar in Politics and International Relations. His research interests include security studies, maritime affairs, comparative politics, human rights, and climate change. His academic portfolio includes 7 published articles in reputable journals (Category Q-2 and Y) and a book review (Category Q-3). He can be reached at usmananwar2023@gmail.com
