Background
Sufi Muhammad, born in Maidan, Dir, received religious education at Panj Pir, Swabi. The madrassah, those son of whose father is none other than Major Amir, famous for attempting an overthrow of Benazir Bhutto in the late 1980s in the infamous operation Midnight Jackal, is well known for running an illegal FM radio station. Other alleged alumni include Mangal Bagh Afridi, Fakir Mohammad, and even (dubiously) Maulana Fazlullah. He is the father-in-law of Maulana Fazlullah, his one-time student. It is alleged by some sources that Fazlullah did not seek Sufi Muhammad's permission to marry his daughter, and, as a result, was in hiding in Bajaur agency for many years.
During the 1980s Sufi Muhammad actively participated in Jamaat-e-Islami, a Islamic political party of Pakistan. In 1992 he split from the group to form TNSM. TNSM was backed heavily by the government through Habibullah.
After the Taliban was ousted from power in Afghanistan in 2001, he organized thousands of militants to fight the Northern Alliance. When Muhammad returned to Pakistan, he was arrested.
Sufi Muhammad remained in prison until 2008 when he agreed in talks with the Government of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to use his influence to work towards peace in the region.
Read more about this topic: Sufi Muhammad
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