Fazlullah (militant Leader)
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Fazal Hayat (1974 – 14 June 2018), more commonly known by his pseudonym Mullah Fazlullah (
Pashto Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...
/ ur, ), was an Islamist militant who was the leader of the
Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM, ur, تحریک نفاذ شریعت محمدی, en, Movement for the Enforcement of Islamic Law) is a Salafi Islamic extremist militant group in Pakistan whose objective is to enforce Sharia law in th ...
, and was the leader of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan in
Swat Valley Swat District (, ps, سوات ولسوالۍ, ) is a district in the Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. With a population of 2,309,570 per the 2017 national census, Swat is the 15th-largest district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa prov ...
. On 7 November 2013, he became the
emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...
of the
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan The Pakistani Taliban (), formally called the Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan (Urdu/ ps, , lit=Student Movement of Pakistan, TTP), is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani bo ...
, and presided over the descent of the group into factions who are often at war with each other. Fazlullah was designated by the
Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee The ISIL (Da'esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee is a committee of the United Nations Security Council tasked with implementing international sanctions against the Islamic State and al-Qaeda. It was established as the Al-Qaida and Taliban Sancti ...
of the
Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, and ...
in 2015, and was added to the U.S. State Department's
Rewards for Justice The Rewards for Justice Program (RFJ) is the counterterrorism and counterintelligence platform administered by the U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service agency. The Rewards For Justice program is seeking information leading to the ...
wanted list on 7 March 2018. Fazlullah was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Kunar,
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
on 14 June 2018.


Personal life

Fazlullah was born Fazal Hayat in 1974 into a
Gujjar Gurjar or Gujjar (also transliterated as ''Gujar, Gurjara and Gujjer'') is an ethnic nomadic, agricultural and pastoral community, spread mainly in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, divided internally into various clan groups. They were tradit ...
family in the
Swat District Swat District (, ps, سوات ولسوالۍ, ) is a district in the Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. With a population of 2,309,570 per the 2017 national census, Swat is the 15th-largest district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa prov ...
of
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...
, Pakistan.Roggio, Bill (7 July 2007
"Swat joins Talibanistan"
''The Long War Journal'' Public Multimedia Inc. He married the daughter of Sufi Muhammad, the founder of
Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM, ur, تحریک نفاذ شریعت محمدی, en, Movement for the Enforcement of Islamic Law) is a Salafi Islamic extremist militant group in Pakistan whose objective is to enforce Sharia law in th ...
. It is rumoured that Fazlullah kidnapped Sufi Muhammmad's daughter as a student in Sufi Muhammad Madrassa.
MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...
, a news channel in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, obtained a photo of Fazlullah in January 2008.


Militant activity


Operations in Pakistan


TNSM in Swat

On 12 January 2002, Fazlullah became the leader of
Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM, ur, تحریک نفاذ شریعت محمدی, en, Movement for the Enforcement of Islamic Law) is a Salafi Islamic extremist militant group in Pakistan whose objective is to enforce Sharia law in th ...
(TNSM) due to the enforcement of a ban by
Pervez Musharraf General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of the ...
, former President of Pakistan. The ban led to the arrest and capture of Sufi Muhammad, which placed Fazlullah into the leadership role. Sufi Muhammad was freed in 2008 after he renounced violence. Fazlullah managed to restore the organization, bootstrapping on the relief efforts by Islamist extremist groups following the 8 October 2005-earthquake. New cadres then began moving into the
Swat Valley Swat District (, ps, سوات ولسوالۍ, ) is a district in the Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. With a population of 2,309,570 per the 2017 national census, Swat is the 15th-largest district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa prov ...
.


Alliance with Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan

In the aftermath of the 2007
siege of Lal Masjid The siege of Lal Masjid ( ur, , code-named Operation Sunrise) was a confrontation in July 2007 between Islamist students & fundamentalist militants and the Government of Pakistan, led by President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shauk ...
, Fazlullah's forces and
Baitullah Mehsud Baitullah Mehsud (Pashto/ ur, ; – 5 August 2009) was one of founder and a leading member of TTP in Waziristan, Pakistan, and the leader of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). He formed the TTP from an alliance of about five militant groups ...
's
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan The Pakistani Taliban (), formally called the Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan (Urdu/ ps, , lit=Student Movement of Pakistan, TTP), is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani bor ...
(TTP) formed an alliance. Fazlullah and his army henceforth reportedly received orders from Mehsud. A temporary cease-fire from May to September 2007 allowed Fazlullah to consolidate his political forces in Swat.


Parallel government

With the support of more than 4,500 militants, by late October 2007 Fazlullah had established a "parallel government" in 59 villages in
Swat Valley Swat District (, ps, سوات ولسوالۍ, ) is a district in the Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. With a population of 2,309,570 per the 2017 national census, Swat is the 15th-largest district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa prov ...
by starting Islamic courts to enforce
sharia Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...
law.


Reports of wounding

On 10 July 2009,
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
reported that Fazlullah was near death after being critically wounded, corroborating statements made by senior government and security officials in Pakistan. This was a day after the army announced it had wounded the Taliban chief in the Swat valley. The Taliban have denied that Fazlullah was critically injured. The Pakistan army, however, refuted this claim and insisted that a man impersonated Fazlullah when he allegedly denied that he was critically injured.


Madrassa

Fazlullah developed a $US2.5 million
madrassa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...
with assistance from the Taliban which was used as his base of operations. It was funded by the JEI faction led by Maulana Sami-ul-haq.


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, Fazlullah was allegedly hiding in the Konar province in Afghanistan. On 26 January 2008, it was reported that Maulvi Abdul Raziq, a close aide of Fazlullah, was arrested in the Kot area of
Charbagh ''Charbagh'' or ''Chahar Bagh'' ( ''chahār bāgh'', ''chārbāgh'', ''chār bāgh'', meaning "four gardens") is a Persian and Indo-Persian quadrilateral garden layout based on the four gardens of Paradise mentioned in the Quran. The quadr ...
. 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. In October 2011,
Maj Gen Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Athar Abbas Major General Athar Abbas is a former Director General of the ISPR and former Ambassador of Pakistan to Ukraine from 2015 to 2018. He retired from active military service after 35 years in June 2012. Military career General Abbas was commiss ...
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." In June 2012, a TTP spokesman claimed that Fazlullah was leading attacks on Pakistan from Afghanistan's border provinces. Reuters indicated that he controlled a 20-km stretch of area in Nuristan province along the Pakistani border. On 3 December 2013, it was revealed to the media by TTP spokesperson that Fazlullah has crossed the Pak-Afghan border into Pakistan's tribal areas, he was expected to end the squabbling among the Taliban leadership relating to his appointment as new TTP Chief.


Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan leadership

After the death of
Hakimullah Mehsud Hakimullah Mehsud (Pashto language, Pashto/ ur, حکیم اللہ محسود; − 1 November 2013), born Jamshed Mehsud () and also known as Zulfiqar Mehsud (), was a Pakistani militant who was the second emir of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan. He w ...
in a drone attack, Fazlullah was appointed the new "Emir" (Chief) of the
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan The Pakistani Taliban (), formally called the Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan (Urdu/ ps, , lit=Student Movement of Pakistan, TTP), is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani bor ...
on 7 November 2013. According to Ehsanullah Ehsan, the former spokesperson for TTP, Mullah Fazlullah became the leader via lucky draw.


Army Public School attack in Peshawar

On 16 December 2014, six militants reportedly dressed as Pakistani Army soldiers entered the school through the graveyard situated on the backside of school and killed around 141 people including 132 students and the principal. In reaction to this massacre, Pakistan intensified its ongoing operation Zarb-e-Azab against the militants. Some Pakistani officials claim that Fazlullah masterminded the attack and subsequently hid on the Afghan side of the
Durand Line The Durand Line ( ps, د ډیورنډ کرښه; ur, ), forms the Pakistan–Afghanistan border, a international land border between Pakistan and Afghanistan in South Asia. The western end runs to the border with Iran and the eastern end to th ...
. He narrowly escaped a U.S. drone strike on 25 November 2014.


Views and opposition to female education

In 2001, many seats reserved for women in northern Pakistan went unfilled due in large part to the actions of the TNSM.Hussain, Zahid (29 July 2005
"Frontier women to defy Islamists' men-only ballot"
''The Times'' In 2005, Fazlullah was quoted as saying: ''We have our tradition that bans women from taking part in the elections and violators will be punished.'' Fazlullah started an illegal local FM channel in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's
Swat Valley Swat District (, ps, سوات ولسوالۍ, ) is a district in the Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. With a population of 2,309,570 per the 2017 national census, Swat is the 15th-largest district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa prov ...
in 2006. He preached forcing vice and virtue and had an anti-Western Jihadi stance. He was considered pro-
Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...
and was a very powerful figure in the area. He considered most communication-based electronics as "major sources of spreading Jihad" and transmitted broadcasts of his sermons on an illegal local FM radio channel, hence the nickname "Radio Mullah" or "Maulana Radio". FM signals were relayed from mobile transmitters mounted on motorcycles and trucks. During nightly broadcasts, prohibited activities were routinely declared and violators' names announced for assassination, which often included beheading. 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. He led a drive of eradicating vices such as
music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
,
dancing Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...
, and of what he calls "major sources of sin" such as TVs, CDs,
computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...
s and other video equipment by burning the electronics or the shops in which they are housed. Fazlullah threatened barbers who shaved their customers' beards and warned against girls attending schools. He opposed a
polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...
vaccination drive in
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the northwestern region of the country, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ...
claiming that aid workers were seeking to proselytise in the region, as well as spy for foreign forces. In some sermons he had also considered it against Islamic norms. He considered
Hepatitis C Hepatitis C is an infectious disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that primarily affects the liver; it is a type of viral hepatitis. During the initial infection people often have mild or no symptoms. Occasionally a fever, dark urine, a ...
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 The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
vaccination program as a threat and in some cases the immunization teams were physically beaten. On 9 October 2012, an assassin instructed by Fazlullah shot
Malala Yousafzai Malala Yousafzai ( ur, , , pronunciation: ; born 12 July 1997), is a Pakistani female education activist and the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Awarded when she was 17, she is the world's youngest Nobel Prize laureate, and the second Pak ...
. Although the attack was meant to kill
Malala Yousafzai Malala Yousafzai ( ur, , , pronunciation: ; born 12 July 1997), is a Pakistani female education activist and the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Awarded when she was 17, she is the world's youngest Nobel Prize laureate, and the second Pak ...
it made her a very respected and prominent leader.


Death

On 23 March 2015, Pakistani military forces and the Pakistani media reported that Fazlullah was killed on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. This claim was denied by Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan. On 14 June 2018, Fazlullah was killed in an American drone strike in
Kunar Province Kunar (Pashto: ; Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeastern part of the country. Its capital is Asadabad. Its population is estimated to be 508,224. Kunar's major political groups include Wahhabis or Ahl-e- Ha ...
, Afghanistan. The TTP confirmed his death and announced Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud alias Abu Mansoor Asim as their new leader.


See also

*
Abdul Rashid Ghazi Abdul Rashid Ghazi ( ur, عبد الرشید غازی; – 10 July 2007) was a Pakistani Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist who served as the vice-chancellor of Jamia Faridia, Faridia University. Prior to his radicalisation, he serv ...
* Adnan Rashid


References


External links


"Imam warns police against his arrest; FIR registered" 3 March 2007

NBC News obtains photograph of Fazlullah
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fazlullah, Maulana 1974 births 2018 deaths Pashtun people Pakistani radio personalities Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan members People from Swat District Pakistani expatriates in Afghanistan Pakistani Islamists Deaths by United States drone strikes in Afghanistan People designated by the Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee Leaders of Islamic terror groups