By: Farhan Zahid
Mullah Fazlullah, the notorious Tehreek-e-Taliban Islamic Republic of Pakistan (TTP) emir, was killed inward a United States drone nail inward June, along with 4 of his commanders, inward the Marawar district of Kunar province inward eastern Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan (Tolo News, June 15). With Fazlullah gone, the grouping volition probable alter management nether the leadership of its novel emir, Noor Wali Mehsud. Since taking over equally TTP leader inward 2013, Fazlullah has planned a relentless serial of terrorist operations inward Islamic Republic of Pakistan from his base of operations inward neighboring Afghanistan. Under his command, however, the grouping was unable to rest the efficient terrorist scheme it had been nether the previous 2 emirs, Baitullah together with Hakimullah Mehsud. While Fazlullah was known for a serial of ruthless acts of terrorism inward Pakistan—including instigating the 2007 together with 2009 Islamist insurgencies inward Pakistan’s Malakand Division, ordering the attempted assassination of Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai inward 2012 together with masterminding the shocking killing of schoolhouse children at the Army Public School inward Peshawar inward Dec 2014—on his watch, factions splintered from the grouping together with a serial of TTP commanders joined with Islamic State’s (IS) Afghan chapter, IS-Khorasan.
Pakistani officials should too banker's complaint that Fazlullah’s elimination would probable entirely require maintain been achieved with United States help. Despite the large break of state of war machine together with safety forces operations inward tribal areas together with settled districts inward Pakistan, the Pakistani safety forces require maintain proved to survive unable to eliminate pregnant senior jihadist figures. Baitullah together with Hakimullah Mehsud, along with other key al-Qaeda leaders —such equally Naek Mohammad Wazir, Qari Yasin together with Atiya Abdul Rehman—have entirely been slain over the terminal xiv years equally a upshot of United States drone strikes.
An Unlikely Leader
Fazlullah had been past times closed to measures an unlikely selection for leader of the TTP equally he was neither from the tribal areas nor, different the commencement 2 TTP emirs, from the Mehsud tribe.
Born inward 1974 inward the Kuza Bandia expanse of Swat, Fazal Hayat (a.k.a. Mullah Fazlullah) briefly studied at a madrassa but dropped out together with joined Tehreek-e-Nifaz Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM), the militant displace led past times Moulvi Sufi Mohammad, a old district leader for the Islamist political political party Jamaat-e-Islami together with who after became his manly someone rear in-law (Dawn, Nov 7, 2013).
From the platform of TNSM, Fazlullah participated inward Islamist insurgencies inward 1994 together with inward 2001, amid the United States invasion of Afghanistan. Between 2007-2009 his fighters managed to overrun large swaths of the Malakand partition of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, taking over territory equally far equally Swabi district, less than 100 kilometers from Islamabad. For vi months, TNSM nether Fazalllah ruled over the Swat Valley together with Malakand Division. Fazal relocated to Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan inward 2009 after he was pushed out past times Pakistani safety forces. From at that topographic point he masterminded terrorist attacks upward until his decease on June 13. [1]
The Fazlullah-led TNSM savage nether the umbrella of the Pakistani Taliban when the TTP was formed past times Baitullah Mehsud inward 2007. The TTP provided human together with textile back upward to Fazlullah during his Islamist insurgency inward Swat, together with he after institute prophylactic haven inward TTP-controlled areas.
Although he was non a fellow member of the Mehsud tribe, Fazlullah managed to ascent high plenty inward the TTP shura that after the decease of Hakimullah Mehsud inward a drone nail inward 2013 he was selected equally the group’s novel emir. There was disappointment together with anger alongside the TTP that Fazlullah was non from the tribal areas, nor a Mehsud, together with a break of shura council members parted ways with the grouping equally a result. Chief alongside them was Omar Khalid Khurassani, the old TTP emir of Mohmand district, who after formed his ain faction of TTP, the Jamaat ul Ahrar.
Fazlullah’s strategy equally TTP leader was to essay to create an surroundings of fright together with perpetual disturbance inward Pakistan, together with to closed to extent he was successful. Omar Mansoor Naray planned the Dec 2014 Army Public School gear upward on on his directions. It was the around lethal terrorist gear upward on inward Pakistan’s recent past—TTP fighters killed 144 people, 132 of them schoolhouse children (Dawn, Oct 18, 2017).
In other high profile terrorist attacks executed past times Fazlullah, the grouping used an IED to gear upward on the convoy of Lieutenant General Sanaullah Niazi, the human being responsible for the Swat state of war machine functioning against TTP. Niazi together with 4 others were killed inward the gear upward on inward the suburbs of Swat inward September 2013 (News International, September 16, 2013). Prior to that, Fazlullah sent a squad of assassins to target Malala Yousafzai, the teenage woman someone didactics rights activist, who was after awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, together with 2 other girls who were business office of Malala’s receive (News International, June 16).
Changes Ahead
After losing Fazlullah, TTP’s cardinal shura initially selected Fazlullah’s deputy, Omar Rehman (a.k.a. Ustad Fateh), equally interim emir. Rehman was a contemporary of Fazlullah together with hailed from Swat district. He played a pivotal operate inward the Islamist insurgency inward Swat from 2007 to 2009 together with had remained active perpetrating attacks on safety forces.
Over time, however, a novel TTP tin survive expected to emerge. The TTP’s cardinal shura announced its engagement of Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud equally the novel TTP leader on June 23, piece Mufti Hazratullah was named deputy emir (NDTV, June 24).
Born inward 1978, Noor Wali Mehsud hails from the South Waziristan district of the tribal areas of Islamic Republic of Pakistan together with studied at madrasahs inward Karachi, Gujranwali together with Rawalpindi. (BBC Urdu, June 23). His selection indicates that the TTP shura is non bad to avoid the sort of ructions that occurred next the selection of Fazlullah, a non-Mehsud emir.
Mehsud, closed to other wanted Islamist jihadist, is notorious for masterminding major terror attacks, including the assassination of old Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on Dec 2007, together with an before attempted gear upward on at a rally she held inward Karsaz, Karachi. Mehsud claimed responsibleness for these attacks on TTP’s behalf inward a 690-page mass he wrote entitled, Inquilaab Mehsud South Waziristan: Farangi Raj se Ameriki Samraj tak (The Mehsud Revolution inward South Waziristan: From British Raj to Oppressive America). He tin survive expected to innovation lethal strikes inward Islamic Republic of Pakistan together with against United States interests inward Islamic Republic of Pakistan to avenge the killing of his predecessor.
Outlook
Fazlullah’s decease inward a drone nail reaffirms the importance of United States assistance to Islamic Republic of Pakistan inward countering terrorism both at abode together with inward the region. Islamabad would accomplish less without it. Pakistani state of war machine operations require maintain pushed the Islamist terrorists out of tribal areas of Pakistan, but the operations require maintain non been plenty to eliminate them, together with a break require maintain institute prophylactic haven inward neighboring Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan where the weakened authorities has been unable to tackle them.
Fazlullah’s decease may assist plough the page on the deteriorating U.S.-Pakistan relationship, at to the lowest degree inward countering terrorism inward the AfPak region. For Islamic Republic of Pakistan together with Afghan policymakers, it is fourth dimension to capitalize on the chance provided past times the transition to a novel TTP leader, before the grouping begins to recover. Both Islamic Republic of Pakistan together with Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan could exercise to a greater extent than inward partnership with the the States if they require maintain wages of the province of affairs together with stamp-out militant prophylactic havens inward the region, whether they belong to the Afghan or Pakistani Taliban.
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