Meet “Mullah Radio,” the New Taliban Chief -- By Walter Russell Mead, The American Interest

Mullah Fazlullah, or Mullah Radio as he is popularly known for his sermons broadcast on the airwaves, was selected as the new leader of the Pakistani Taliban after a drone strike killed his predecessor Hakimullah Mehsud last week. Time reports:

Fazlullah, who is about 39, has a fearsome reputation. Between 2007 and 2009, he became the Pakistani Taliban’s most notable militant leader after his radical group, Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (Movement to Impose the Sharia of Mohammed), took over the Swat Valley, a picturesque corner of northwest Pakistan once famed as a tranquil honeymoon destination. The militants were eventually chased out by a Pakistani army offensive in May 2009.

Fazlullah is most infamous for being the man who ordered the attack on Malala Yousafzai, the young education activist who maintained a blog for the BBC while the Taliban were in control. But while Fazlullah definitely has the mass-murdering credentials, this is something of a new direction for the Taliban, as it marks the first time that the group’s leadership does not come from the country’s Mehsud tribe. He is currently living across the border in Afghanistan, allegedly under Afghan protection, embittering an already fraught relationship between the two countries.

 (Click link below to read more)
READ MORE Sphere: Related Content