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Mullah Omar backs Pak Taliban chief

Iran Press TV

Fri Nov 8, 2013 2:6PM GMT

Mullah Omar, the fugitive leader of Afghan Taliban, has played a vital role in the appointment of new head of the Pakistani Taliban, a media report says.

According to a report published by The News International, the fugitive leader stepped in and named Mullah Fazlullah as the chief of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) after militants failed to choose a new chief by consensus.

The report added that the TTP spokesman, Shahidullah Shahid, officially announced the appointment of Fazlullah as Pakistan's Taliban chief via telephone from neighboring Afghanistan.

The report comes as pro-Taliban militants in Pakistan are threatening a new wave of attacks against the government after naming their new chief.

Fazlullah was appointed chief of the group on Thursday -- nearly a week after a US drone strike killed his predecessor, Hakimullah Mehsud.

The new chief is known for his fierce rejection of talks with Islamabad. The militant group has also said that it will target army and government installations in Punjab Province.

"We will target security forces, government installations, political leaders and police," Asmatullah Shaheen, the head of the Pakistani Taliban leadership council, was quoted as saying on Friday.

Fazlullah, believed to be in his late 30s, led the bloody occupation of the Swat Valley of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province in 2008-09, and pioneered a violent campaign against female education in the valley.

He earned the nickname of 'FM Mullah' for his use of a roving transmitter to broadcast speeches against education for women and girls.

Since his eviction from Swat in an army operation in 2009, Fazlullah has moved to Afghanistan's Kunar Province from where he has launched a number of deadly attacks against the Pakistani security forces, including one in September that killed Major General Sanaullah Khan Niazi.

Pro-Taliban militants have increased their attacks across Pakistan since Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif came to power in May.

Sharif has been an advocate of peace talks with the Taliban militants since his election campaign which ended in his victory six months ago.

JR/AB/SS