SUMMARY

HGB (Forces of Hafiz Gul Bahadur), was established in 2005 as a militant group led by Hafiz Gul Bahadur in North Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa state. The group became part of the TTP in 2007 but would later distance themselves from the TTP and begin to operate as its own umbrella organisation.

The HGB group resurfaced in 2023 following restructuring and stated that they were launching a Jihad against the Pakistani government with the goal of enforcing Sharia law in Pakistan. The group operated primarily in the districts of North Waziristan, where they also had training camps, and Bannu in the state of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but also had a small presence in Afghanistan.

The HGB group was an umbrella organisation made up of approximately 60 to 70 different factions and fighting units of varying size and capacity that operated both individually and jointly. The umbrella was led by Hafiz Gul Bahadur while the factions and units were led by different commanders and leaders.

The group and its leader have maintained relationships with both the Government of Pakistan and the TTP in the past but from 2023 onwards, they only maintained a relationship with the latter due to their shared goals.

On 11 April 2025, a new alliance, IMP, was announced, combining forces from Lashkar-e-Islam, HGB and Harakat-e-Inqila-e-Islami. Following that date, HGB forces are seen as part of IMP.

HGB has been involved in the intrastate and one-sided categories of UCDP organised violence.