Maulana Fazlullah was unremorseful after his group killed a two-star Pakistan Army general near the Afghanistan border in September. Instead, he said their target was corps commander Peshawar.
That was unsatisfactory, too. He wished to kill the chief of army staff to avenge his defeat in Swat. After deadly and high profile attacks over the years, his vengeance in fact is still unsatiated.
This militant commander was yesterday made the new head of the proscribed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), with all vengeful intentions, capability and a hard-line agenda.Maulana Fazlullah, son-in-law of the jailed Maulana Sufi Muhammad, controlled Swat valley from 2007 to 2009 and unleashed a spree of violence. He was driven out of Swat more than four and a half years ago, but he refused to give in. He continued his violent campaign from his unmolested sanctuaries in Afghanistan and created headlines worldwide. All these years, his ferocious attacks raised his militant profile and enabled him to become the chief of the TTP, an umbrella organisation of militant groups.
In 20011, he launched deadly attacks from Kunar, an eastern province of Afghanistan, into Lower Dir, Upper Dir and Chitral districts. These attacks have killed over a hundred security forces personnel and scores of innocent villagers. His fighters slit the throats of 17 soldiers last year in June, underlining the ferocity of the threat he posed to Pakistan’s security.
His attacks precipitated troop deployment on the western border along these districts for the first time in the country’s history. Thousands of army soldiers sent there in September 2011 are still deployed along the border.
Last year in October, Fazlullah ordered the killing of Malala Yousafzai for speaking against the Taliban. She miraculously survived after being hit in the head in the attack. People poured into the streets in all parts of the country in her support and against the attack. The world followed. The international community lauded her for bravery and her struggle for education.
When he held sway over Swat, he ordered bombing and torching of schools, particularly those for girls. He threatened parents to stop sending girls to schools or else they would be killed. His men publicly flogged people for actions he considered un-Islamic, including women. His fighters killed a teacher in Matta as his shalwar was hiding his ankles, a voluntary practice Islam advises the faithful to exercise. Taliban in Swat slaughtered people in streets and hung their bodies in squares, petrifying residents. Suicide blasts were widespread. He had established over 40 self-styled Sharia courts that delivered punishments to people.
Fazlullah is a fiery speaker and it helped him initially impress the people of Swat. He used FM radio for winning support and later spreading his reign of terror. Due to the use of FM radio, local people called him “Mulla Radio.”
The Awami National Party that came into power in 2008 held talks with him in 2008 and 2009. However, on both occasions the talks failed. The Nawaz Sharif government’s desire to hold talks with TTP have met a setback with his appointment as its chief. The first announcement that was made after his selection was that TTP would not hold talks with the government.
That was unsatisfactory, too. He wished to kill the chief of army staff to avenge his defeat in Swat. After deadly and high profile attacks over the years, his vengeance in fact is still unsatiated.
This militant commander was yesterday made the new head of the proscribed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), with all vengeful intentions, capability and a hard-line agenda.Maulana Fazlullah, son-in-law of the jailed Maulana Sufi Muhammad, controlled Swat valley from 2007 to 2009 and unleashed a spree of violence. He was driven out of Swat more than four and a half years ago, but he refused to give in. He continued his violent campaign from his unmolested sanctuaries in Afghanistan and created headlines worldwide. All these years, his ferocious attacks raised his militant profile and enabled him to become the chief of the TTP, an umbrella organisation of militant groups.
In 20011, he launched deadly attacks from Kunar, an eastern province of Afghanistan, into Lower Dir, Upper Dir and Chitral districts. These attacks have killed over a hundred security forces personnel and scores of innocent villagers. His fighters slit the throats of 17 soldiers last year in June, underlining the ferocity of the threat he posed to Pakistan’s security.
His attacks precipitated troop deployment on the western border along these districts for the first time in the country’s history. Thousands of army soldiers sent there in September 2011 are still deployed along the border.
Last year in October, Fazlullah ordered the killing of Malala Yousafzai for speaking against the Taliban. She miraculously survived after being hit in the head in the attack. People poured into the streets in all parts of the country in her support and against the attack. The world followed. The international community lauded her for bravery and her struggle for education.
When he held sway over Swat, he ordered bombing and torching of schools, particularly those for girls. He threatened parents to stop sending girls to schools or else they would be killed. His men publicly flogged people for actions he considered un-Islamic, including women. His fighters killed a teacher in Matta as his shalwar was hiding his ankles, a voluntary practice Islam advises the faithful to exercise. Taliban in Swat slaughtered people in streets and hung their bodies in squares, petrifying residents. Suicide blasts were widespread. He had established over 40 self-styled Sharia courts that delivered punishments to people.
Fazlullah is a fiery speaker and it helped him initially impress the people of Swat. He used FM radio for winning support and later spreading his reign of terror. Due to the use of FM radio, local people called him “Mulla Radio.”
The Awami National Party that came into power in 2008 held talks with him in 2008 and 2009. However, on both occasions the talks failed. The Nawaz Sharif government’s desire to hold talks with TTP have met a setback with his appointment as its chief. The first announcement that was made after his selection was that TTP would not hold talks with the government.
His appointment has not only brought bad news for the government, but also for the people of Malakand division, of which Swat is a district. Now with central command of the TTP in his hands, it is feared he will carry out attacks and threaten the hard-won peace in the area.
Maulana Fazlullah’s hiding in Kunar has strained Pakistan’s relations with Afghanistan. Islamabad has repeatedly asked Kabul and Nato forces to stop cross-border attacks and hand over Fazlullah to Pakistan. All such requests have gone unmet.
Pakistan believes Afghan intelligence was providing him support. In recent days, Afghanistan’s intention to use Pakistani Taliban against Pakistan was exposed. The US forces snatched Latif Mehsud, deputy to the slain Hakimullah Mehsud, from Afghan intelligence agents taking him to strike a terror deal against Pakistan. Due to TTP’s alleged nexus with Afghan intelligence, Fazlullah’s appointment as its chief would now be a major concern for Pakistan.
It remains unclear whether he would continue to operate from Afghanistan or shift to North Waziristan. Analysts believe he felt safe in Afghanistan. However, the US has already announced that he has been on its hit-list. He is one of the main sources of tension with Afghanistan as Kabul has been accusing Islamabad of firing shells into Afghan territory.
Analysts believe he would not have firm control on TTP as he lives in Afghanistan and he isn’t from Fata and from the Mehsud tribe, which produced the two previous heads of the organization.
Maulana Fazlullah’s hiding in Kunar has strained Pakistan’s relations with Afghanistan. Islamabad has repeatedly asked Kabul and Nato forces to stop cross-border attacks and hand over Fazlullah to Pakistan. All such requests have gone unmet.
Pakistan believes Afghan intelligence was providing him support. In recent days, Afghanistan’s intention to use Pakistani Taliban against Pakistan was exposed. The US forces snatched Latif Mehsud, deputy to the slain Hakimullah Mehsud, from Afghan intelligence agents taking him to strike a terror deal against Pakistan. Due to TTP’s alleged nexus with Afghan intelligence, Fazlullah’s appointment as its chief would now be a major concern for Pakistan.
It remains unclear whether he would continue to operate from Afghanistan or shift to North Waziristan. Analysts believe he felt safe in Afghanistan. However, the US has already announced that he has been on its hit-list. He is one of the main sources of tension with Afghanistan as Kabul has been accusing Islamabad of firing shells into Afghan territory.
Analysts believe he would not have firm control on TTP as he lives in Afghanistan and he isn’t from Fata and from the Mehsud tribe, which produced the two previous heads of the organization.
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