Fazlullah Hayat فضل اللہ حیات | |
|---|---|
| 2nd Emir ofTehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi | |
| In office January 12, 2002 – June 14, 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Sufi Muhammad |
| 3rd Emir ofTehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan | |
| In office November 7, 2013 – June 14, 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Hakimullah Mehsud |
| Succeeded by | Noor Wali Mehsud |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1974 (1974) |
| Died | 14 June 2018(2018-06-14) (aged 43–44)[1][2] |
| Children | Muhammad Hakim, Abdul Basit (deceased) |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi(1992–2018)  Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan(2007–2018) |
| Service years | 1992–2018 |
| Rank | Emir of theTehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan andTehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi |
| Conflicts | |
Fazlullah Hayat[a] (1974 – 15 June 2018) was anIslamistjihadist militant who served as the third emir ofTehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from 2013 until his death in 2018. He was also the leader of theTehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi.[3][4] He became theemir of theTehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan in 2013, and presided over the descent of the group into factions who are often at conflict with each other.
Fazlullah was designated by theAl-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee of theUN Security Council in 2015,[5] and was added to the U.S. State Department'sRewards for Justice wanted list on 7 March 2018.[6] Fazlullah was killed in June 2018 by a U.S.drone strike inKunar,Afghanistan.[7][8][9]
Fazlullah was born Fazal Hayat in 1974 into aPashtun family in theSwat District ofKhyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.[10][11] He married the daughter ofSufi Muhammad, the founder ofTehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi. It is rumoured that Fazlullah kidnapped Sufi Muhammad's daughter as a student in Sufi Muhammad Madrassa.MSNBC, a news channel in theUnited States, obtained a photo[12] of Fazlullah in January 2008.
On 12 January 2002, Fazlullah became the leader ofTehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) due to the enforcement of a ban byPervez Musharraf, former President of Pakistan. The ban led to the arrest and capture of Sufi Muhammad, which placed Fazlullah into the leadership role.[13][14] Sufi Muhammad was freed in 2008 after he renounced violence.[15][16] Fazlullah managed to restore the organization, bootstrapping on the relief efforts by Islamist extremist groups following the8 October 2005-earthquake.[13] New cadres then began moving into theSwat Valley.[17][18]
In the aftermath of the 2007siege of Lal Masjid, Fazlullah's forces andBaitullah Mehsud'sTehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) formed an alliance. Fazlullah and his army henceforth reportedly received orders from Mehsud.[19] A temporary cease-fire from May to September 2007 allowed Fazlullah to consolidate his political forces in Swat.[11][20]
With the support of more than 4,500 militants, by late October 2007 Fazlullah had established a "parallel government" in 59 villages inSwat Valley by starting Islamic courts to enforcesharia law.[21][22]
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.[23] This was a day after the army announced it had wounded the Taliban chief in the Swat valley.[24] The Taliban have denied that Fazlullah was critically injured.[25] The Pakistan army, however, refuted this claim and insisted that a man impersonated Fazlullah when he allegedly denied that he was critically injured.[26]
Fazlullah developed a $US2.5 millionmadrassa with assistance from the Taliban which was used as his base of operations.[28] It was funded by the JEI faction led byMaulana Sami-ul-haq.[29]
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 theKonar province in Afghanistan.[30] On 26 January 2008, it was reported that Maulvi Abdul Raziq, a close aide of Fazlullah, was arrested in the Kot area ofCharbagh.[31]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.[32]
In October 2011,Maj GenAthar 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."[33]
In June 2012, a TTP spokesman claimed that Fazlullah was leading attacks on Pakistan from Afghanistan's border provinces.[34] Reuters indicated that he controlled a 20-km stretch of area in Nuristan province along the Pakistani border.[35]
On 3 December 2013, it was revealed to the media byTTP spokesperson that Fazlullah has crossed the Pak-Afghan border intoPakistan's tribal areas, he was expected to end the squabbling among the Taliban leadership relating to his appointment as new TTP Chief.[36][37]
After the death ofHakimullah Mehsud in a drone attack, Fazlullah was appointed the new "Emir" (Chief) of theTehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan on 7 November 2013.[38] According to Ehsanullah Ehsan, the former spokesperson for TTP, Mullah Fazlullah became the leader via lucky draw.[39]
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 operationZarb-e-Azab against the militants. Some Pakistani officials claim that Fazlullah masterminded the attack and subsequently hid on the Afghan side of theDurand Line. He narrowly escaped a U.S. drone strike on 25 November 2014.[40]
In 2001, many seats reserved for women in northern Pakistan went unfilled due in large part to the actions of the TNSM.[41] 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.[41]
Fazlullah started an illegal localFM channel in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa'sSwat Valley in 2006.[42] He preached forcing vice and virtue and had an anti-Western Jihadi stance. He was considered pro-Taliban 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.[43]
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.[44]
He led a drive of eradicating vices such asmusic,dancing, and of what he calls "major sources of sin" such asTVs,CDs,computers and other video equipment by burning the electronics or the shops in which they are housed.[45] Fazlullah threatened barbers who shaved their customers' beards and warned against girls attending schools.[12]
He opposed apolio vaccination drive inKhyber-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 consideredHepatitis 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 theWorld Health Organization vaccination program as a threat and in some cases the immunization teams were physically beaten.[46]
On 9 October 2012, an assassin instructed by Fazlullah shotMalala Yousafzai.[47] Although the attack was meant to kill Malala it made her a very respected and prominent leader.[48]
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 inKunar Province, Afghanistan.[49][50][2] The TTP confirmed his death and announced Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud alias Abu Mansoor Asim as their new leader.[51]
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| Preceded by | Leader of Pakistani Taliban 2013–2018 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
