Noor Wali Mehsud
Noor Wali Mehsud | |
|---|---|
نور ولی محسود | |
Mehsud in 2018 | |
| 4th Emir of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) | |
| Assumed office 22 June 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Fazal Hayat |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 26 June 1978 Tiarza Subdivision, South Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan |
| Nickname | Abu Mansoor Asim |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
|
| Years of service | 1996–1998 2001 2003–present |
| Rank | Emir of the Pakistani Taliban |
| Battles/wars | |
Noor Wali Mehsud (born 26 June 1978), also known by his nom de guerre Abu Mansur Asim, is a Pakistani militant who has served as the fourth emir of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) since 2018. On 22 June 2018, Mehsud was named the emir of the TTP after the former emir, Mullah Fazlullah, was killed in a US drone strike in Kunar, Afghanistan.
Mehsud became TTP emir during the group's weakest point since its inception, as the TTP no longer held territory in Pakistan and had been plagued by internal divisions. Despite this, since Mehsud's rule, the TTP appears to have "grown deadlier." Mehsud steered the TTP in a new direction, sparing civilians and ordering assaults only on security and law enforcement personnel, in an attempt to rehabilitate the group's image and distance them from the Islamic State – Khorasan Province (Daesh–Khorasan) militant group's extremism.
The US classified Mehsud as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on 10 September 2019. In July 2020, Mehsud was included on the ISIL and Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee list by the United Nations.
Although some sources reported his assassination in October 2025, the TTP released an voice note from Mehsud where he stated that he was still alive. On October 17, 2025, the TTP released also released a video reportedly filmed in Khyber Agency, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, as a "proof of life" for its leader, Noor Wali Mehsud. In the footage, Mehsud appears in person to confirm he is alive and directly addresses recent reports—and alleged airstrikes—that claimed to have killed him.