[4] Ataullah was born in Karachi, Pakistan to a migrant family, who had fled the religious persecution in his native Rakhine State in Myanmar (also known as Arakan, Burma) sometime in the 1960s.

A Myanmar government press release claims Ataullah spent six months training in modern guerrilla warfare under the Taliban in Pakistan.

The ICG report stated that though not confirmed, there are indications he went to Pakistan, and possibly elsewhere, and that he received practical training in modern guerrilla warfare.

[9][10][11] ARSA was blamed for the Kha Maung Seik massacre (the killings of 99 Bengali Hindus) that occurred on the same day, a charge Ataullah denies.

The police also stated that he had told Mohib Ullah to shut down the operations of his organization and join ARSA, but he refused.