Mullah Fazlullah new chief of Pakistan Taliban

FILE - In this Sunday, Oct. 4, 2009 file photo, Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud, right, holds a rocket launcher with his comrades in Sararogha of Pakistani tribal area of South Waziristan along the Afghanistan border. Intelligence officials said Friday, Nov. 1, 2013 that the leader of the Pakistani Taliban Hakimullah Mehsud was one of three people killed in a U.S. drone strike. (AP Photo/Ishtiaq Mehsud, File)

A week after Hakimullah Mehsud was killed in a U.S. drone strike, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has appointed a new chief, Mullah Fazlullah, who once terrorised the Swat region.

Fazlullah’s faction was responsible for shutting down girls’ schools and a near-fatal attempt on Malala Yousufzai in Mingora last year. TTP spokesperson Shahidullah Shahid confirmed the new appointment on Thursday, according to Zahir Shah Sherazi, Dawn’s chief of bureau in Peshawar.

Mullah Radio

Nicknamed Mullah Radio for his controversial broadcasts when the Taliban took control over the Swat region in 2009 until a military operation forced him to flee, his appointment dims the prospects of any peace talks with the government.

New Deputy

A meeting of the Taliban’s highest council also decided to make Khalid Haqqani deputy for the new TTP chief, according to news reports.

Many names had emerged earlier to head the militant outfit and an interim leader was also appointed.