Malala assassination plotter named Pakistan Taliban chief

Maulana Fazlullah, has been named the new Pakistan Taliban head after Hakimullah Mehsud was killed in a drone strike last week.

Zee Media Bureau/Himanshu Kapoor

Islamabad: Maulana Fazlullah, has been named the Pakistan Taliban new head after Hakimullah Mehsud was killed in a drone strike last week. Fazlullah, reputated for brutality, is also best known for ordering assassination of education activist Malala Yousafzai in Pakistan`s Swat Valley. A spokesman for the Taliban said over the phone that Fazlullah has been elected as their new chief. According to reports, the new leader after his selection rejected the idea peace talks with the Pakistan government. Earlier, the Taliban strongly condemned the US drone strike in which its leader Hakimullah Mehsud was killed. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, in his meeting with US President Barack Obama, has said the drone strikes could disturb the peace talks between Pakistan and Taliban. He also said that the drone attacks violates the sovereignty of Pakistan. However, after that meeting the attack on Mehsud took place infuriating the Taliban and several Pakistani leaders. Before the military operation to recapture the Swat Valley from Taliban, Mullah Fazlullah led the terror group`s brutal two year rule in the valley in 2007-2009. Since the military retook the area, Fazlullah took shelter in the neighbouring Afghanistan and directed terror attacks in Pakistan from there. He was given the nickname of `Mullah Radio` after he set up a radio station to broadcast the organisation`s chilling propaganda.