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Fazlullah (militant leader)

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Maulana Fazalullah
Born
Fazal Hayat[1]
Other namesMullah Radio
Radio Mullah
OrganizationTehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM)
Known forOrdering the Attack on Malala Yousafzai
Fazlullah's madrasa at Imam Dherai, Swat. Pakistani security forces bombed and destroyed the compound in early June 2009.[2]

Maulana Fazlullah,[3] (born 1974)[4] nicknamed the "Radio Mullah" or "Mullah Radio", is the leader of Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM), a banned Pakistani Islamic fundamentalist militant group allied to the Pakistani Taliban, that aims to enforce Sharia in the country. He is sometimes referred to as "chief" of the Swat Taliban[5][6] and is the son-in-law of the TNSM's founder, Sufi Muhammad.

Personal life

Maulana Fazlullah was born Fazal Hayat to Biladar Khan, a Pukhtun of Babukarkhel clan of the Yusufzai tribe of the Swat District in 1974.[7] Fazlullah married the daughter of Sufi Muhammad, the founder of Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi. It is rumored that Fazullah kidnapped Sufi Muhammmad's daughter as a student in Sufi Muhammad Madrasa. MSNBC, a news channel in the United States obtained the only known alleged picture[8] of Maulana Fazlullah.

Militant activity

Operations in Pakistan

TNSM

On January 12, 2002, Fazlullah became the leader of Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi due to the enforcement of a ban by Pervez Musharraf, former President of Pakistan. The ban led to the arrest and capture of Sufi Muhammad, which placed Fazlullah into the leadership role.[9][9][10] Although Sufi Muhammed was freed in 2008,[11] he did not seek to usurp Fazlullah's leadership in the TNSM.[12] Fazlullah managed to restore the organization, bootstrapping on the relief efforts by Islamist extremist groups following the 8 October 2005-earthquake.[9] New cadres then began moving into the Swat Valley. Fazlullah was allegedly arrested by Pakistani security forces while coming back from Afghanistan. While in prison, Sufi Muhammad (his father in law) changed his name from Fazal hayat to Fazlullah. While imprisoned, Fazlullah studied from a variety of religious books that were provided by Sufi Muhammmd. These books included the Holy Qur'an translation and "Tafseer." In February 2009, Sufi Muhammad assisted in the negotiation of a cease fire between TNSM forces and the Pakistani army. As part of the cease fire Pakistan agreed to allow Sharia law in Malakand District.[13][14]

TTP Merger

In the aftermath of the 2007 siege of Lal Masjid, Fazlullah's forces and Baitullah Mehsud's Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) formed an alliance. Fazlullah and his army henceforth reportedly received orders from Mehsud.[15] A temporary cease-fire from May to September 2007 allowed Fazlullah to consolidate his political forces in Swat.[4][16]

Taliban

On 10 July 2009, BBC reported that Fazlullah was near death after being critically wounded, corroborating statements made by senior government and security officials in Pakistan.[6] This was a day after the army announced it had wounded the Taliban chief in the Swat valley.[17] The Taliban have denied that Fazlullah was critically injured.[18] The Pakistan army, however, refuted this claim and insisted that a man impersonated Fazlullah when he allegedly denied that he was critically injured.[19]

Parallel Government

With the support of more than 4,500 armed militants, by late October 2007 Fazlullah had established a "parallel government" in 59 villages in Swat Valley by starting Islamic courts to enforce sharia law.[20][21]

Madrassa

Fazlullah developed a $2.5 million Madrassa with assistance from the Taliban which was used as his base of operations.[22] It was funded by the JEI faction led by Maulana Sami-ul-haq.[23]

Bhutto Assassination

In an address to the nation on 2 January 2008, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf said that he believed Maulana Fazlullah and Baitullah Mehsud were prime suspects in the assassination of Bhutto. However the Pakistan government had put the onus on Baitullah Mehsud.

According to reports, Fazlullah remains stranded in Imam Dehri, without access to desperately needed medical care. He has a 5 million rupees (62,250 dollars) reward.[24]

Operations from Afghanistan

On 29 November 2007, Pakistani security forces captured Fazlullah's headquarters and arrested his brother. Fazlullah himself had already fled to another village. Security Forces have now retaken most of the Swat region. In 2007, Fazullah was allegedly hiding in the Konar province in Afghanistan.[25] On 26 January 2008, it was reported that Maulvi Abdul Raziq, a close aide of Fazlullah, was arrested in the Kot area of Charbagh.[26] In November 2009, Fazlullah told the BBC's Urdu Service that he had escaped from Pakistan to Afghanistan and warned that he would continue to attack Pakistani forces in Swat.[27]

In October 2011 Maj Gen Athar Abbas complained to Reuters that Pakistan had urged Afghanistan and the US to take action against Fazlullah in response to cross-border raids in Dir, Bajaur and Mohmand from April 2011 to August 2011 but that no efforts had been made. Abbas elaborated, "Fazlullah and his group are trying to re-enter Swat through Dir."[5]

In June 2012 a TTP spokesman claimed that Fazlullah was leading attacks on Pakistan from Afghanistan's border provinces.[28] Reuters indicated that he controlled a 20-km stretch of area in Nuristan province along the Pakistani border.[29]

Strict interpretation of Sharia

Radio broadcasts

Maulana Fazlullah started an illegal local FM channel in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's Swat Valley in 2006.[30] He preaches forcing vice and virtue and has an anti-Western Jihadi stance. He is considered pro-Taliban and a very powerful figure in the area. Though he considers most communication based electronics as "major sources of sin" he transmits broadcasts of his sermons on an illegal local FM radio channel, hence the nickname "Radio Mullah" or "Maulana Radio".

FM signals are relayed from mobile transmitters mounted on motorcycles and trucks. During nightly broadcasts, prohibited activities are routinely declared and violators' names announced for assassination, which often includes beheading.[31]

Introduction of Sharia courts

With Swat under Fazlullah's control he and his followers quickly moved to set up the Sharia Courts as primary judicial courts instead of when he was running them parallel to the Pakistani National Judicial Courts.[32]

Eradication of sins and the attacks on music shops

See also: Islamic religious police
Wikiquote has quotations related to religious police.

He leads a drive of eradicating vices such as music, dancing, of what he calls "major sources of sin" such as TVs, CDs, computers and other video equipment by burning the electronics or the shops in which they are housed.[33] Fazlullah has threatened barbers who shaved their customers' beards and warned against girls attending schools.[8]

Anti-polio vaccination stance

He opposed a polio vaccination drive in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa claiming it was a conspiracy of the Jews and Christians to keep Muslims impotent, according to a listener. In some sermons he had also considered it against Islamic norms. He considered Hepatitis C as a more important health issue than Polio and questioned the West's intentions. The propaganda had hindered the drive immensely as the local people saw volunteers and workers for the World Health Organization vaccination program as a threat and in some cases the immunization teams were physically beaten.[34]

Opposition to women voting

In 2001 many seats reserved for women in northern Pakistan went unfilled due in large part to the actions of the TNSM.[35] In 2005, Fazlullah was quoted as saying: We have our tradition that bars women from taking part in the elections and violators will be punished.[35]

Opposition to female education

A January 21, 2009 issue of the Pakistan daily newspaper The News, reports Taliban enforcement of a complete ban on female education in the Swat District. Some 400 private schools enrolling 40,000 girls have been shut down. At least 10 girls' schools that tried to open after the January 15, 2009 deadline by the Fazlullah-led Taliban were blown up by the militants in the town of Mingora, the headquarters of the Swat District.[36][failed verification] "More than 170 schools have been bombed or torched, along with other government-owned buildings."[37][failed verification]

Appointed Talibaan Head

After the death of Hakimullah Mehsud in a Drone attack, Fazlullah has been appointed as the new "Amir" (Head) of the Tehrik Talibaan Pakistan on 7 November 2013.[38]

Notes

  1. ^ http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/Window+on+Pak+Press:+Jaswant+created+a+royal+mess-+Dawn/1/57672.html
  2. ^ http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/04-security-forces-blow-up-mullah-fazlullah-hq-qs-07 Security forces blow up Fazlullah’s HQ: officials
  3. ^ King, Laura (24 February 2009). "Confusion hangs over Pakistan's pact with Taliban". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 24 February 2009.
  4. ^ a b Roggio, Bill (7 July 2007) "Swat joins Talibanistan" The Long War Journal Public Multimedia Inc.
  5. ^ a b "Mullah Radio: Pakistan urges Afghan action against Maulvi Fazlullah". The Express Tribune. The Express Tribune News Network. 2011-10-17. Retrieved 2011-10-17.
  6. ^ a b Swat Taliban chief 'near death'
  7. ^ http://www.valleyswat.net/articles/fazalullah_interview.html
  8. ^ a b Grisanti, Carol (2008-01-09). "Pakistani terrorist revealed in new photo". NBC News. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
  9. ^ a b c "Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi, Extremist Group of Pakistan". SATP. Retrieved 19 April 2007.
  10. ^ Hassan Abbas (12 April 2006). "The Black-Turbaned Brigade: The Rise of TNSM in Pakistan". Jamestown Foundation. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 19 April 2007.
  11. ^ "Top Pakistani militant released". BBC News. 21 April 2008. Archived from the original on 17 April 2009.
  12. ^ Toosi, Nahal (2 May 2009). "Taliban to cease fire in Pakistan's Swat Valley". Yahoo News. Retrieved 15 February 2009.[dead link]
  13. ^ Ali, Zulfiqar (2009-02-17). "Pakistan officials allow Sharia in volatile region". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-02-17. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ "Pakistan agrees Sharia law deal". BBC News. 2009-02-16. Archived from the original on 2009-04-14.
  15. ^ Rehmat, Kamran (27 January 2009). "Swat: Pakistan's lost paradise". Islamabad: Al Jazeera. Retrieved 3 February 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ Hameedullah Khan (22 September 2007). "Swat cleric 'ends' peace deal". Dawn (newspaper). Archived from the original on 17 April 2009.
  17. ^ Swat valley refugees allowed home
  18. ^ http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/provinces/12-taliban+reject+claim+about+fazlullah--bi-10
  19. ^ http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=187399
  20. ^ Qayum, Khalid (25 October 2007). "Pakistan Deploys Troops in Swat to Curb Militants (Update 1)". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 25 February 2009. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ Masood, Salman (25 February 2009). "Maulana Fazlullah". New York Times. Archived from the original on 17 April 2009. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
  22. ^ http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/pakistan703/video/video_index.html
  23. ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=kfwo-Jt2CxYC&pg=PA111&lpg=PA111&dq=pakistan+destroy+madrassa+fazlullah&source=bl&ots=Iz-sxstI6V&sig=UKs7cCsL9X69Y9LK8Gm_FC08cGs&hl=en&sa=X&ei=timbUMyBCciw0QG4gYFg&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=pakistan%20destroy%20madrassa%20fazlullah&f=false
  24. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Re-KYKKp7c
  25. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/mullah-radio-believed-to-be-behind-attack-on-pakistani-schoolgirl/2012/10/17/ee8a9a8c-189f-11e2-9855-71f2b202721b_story.html
  26. ^ April 2009 "Fazlullah's aide, other militants held in Swat". Dawn. 26 January 2008. Archived from the original on 17 April 2009. Retrieved 19 January 2009. {{cite news}}: Check |archiveurl= value (help)
  27. ^ Kakar, Hai (2009-11-17). "Taliban leader 'flees Pakistan'". BBC News. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
  28. ^ Khan, Tahir (2012-06-26). "TTP admits to having safe haven in Afghanistan". The Express Tribune. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  29. ^ Georgy, Michael (2012-06-28). "Pakistan's Fazlullah re-emerges as a security threat". Reuters. Thompson Reuters. Retrieved June 28, 2012. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  30. ^ Buneri, Shaheen (2009-01-26). "Pakistan Falters Against Taliban in Swat Valley". World Politics Review. Retrieved 2009-02-02.
  31. ^ Richard A. Oppel Jr. Pir Zubair Shah, Ismail Khan (2009-01-25). "Radio spreads Taliban's terror in Pakistani region". International Herald-Tribune. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
  32. ^ Athar, Saleem (2007-10-13). "Mohmand Taliban behead 6 'criminals'". Daily Times. Retrieved 2009-01-19. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  33. ^ Khan, Marvaiz (2007-03-10). "Music centres threatened by religious extremists". Freemuse. Retrieved 2009-01-19. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  34. ^ Yusufzai, Ashfaq (2007-01-25). "Impotence fears hit polio drive". BBC News. Retrieved 2009-01-19. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  35. ^ a b Hussain, Zahid (29 Juky 2005) "Frontier women to defy Islamists' men-only ballot" The Times
  36. ^ The News, Pakistan, January 21, 2009.
  37. ^ Saeed Shah (2009-01-20). "Five more schools destroyed in Taliban campaign". London: The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2009-04-17.
  38. ^ http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/07/us-pakistan-taliban-idUSBRE9A60OR20131107

See also

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