Delawar Jan
PESHAWAR: Mualana Fazlullah was unremorseful after
his group killed a two-star general near 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 was yesterday made the new commander
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 instead of weakening his
power. That profile made him chief of the TTP, an umbrella organisation of
militant groups.
In 2011, he launched deadly attacks from Kunar, 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 in September 2011 still remain
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 streets in all
parts of the country in her support and against the attack. The world followed.
The international community acclaimed 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 publically
flogged people for actions he considered un-Islamic, including women. His
fighters killed a teacher in Matta for not hiking trousers above ankles, a
voluntary practice Islam advises 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-style Sharia courts that delivered punishments to people.
Fazlullah is a fiery speaker that helped him
initially impress the people of Swat. He used FM radio for spreading his support
and, later on, his 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 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 menace the peace of the division by carrying out attacks.
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 Fazlullah over 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 took Latif Mehsud, deputy to the
slain Hakimullah Mehsud, from Afghan intelligence that was taking him to strike
a terror deal against Pakistan. With alleged nexus with Afghan intelligence,
Fazlullah’s appointment as TTP chief would now be a major concern for Pakistan.
It remains unclear whether he would remain 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
the hit-list. He is one of the main sources of tension with Afghanistan as
Kabul has been accusing Islamabad of firing shells into Afghanistan’s
territory.
Analysts believe he would not have firm control on
TTP as he lives in Afghanistan and he also is non-Mehsud.
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