{{Short description|Pakistani Taliban leader (1974–2018)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2013}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Fazlullah Hayat<br />{{nobold|{{lang|prs|فضل اللہ حیات}}}} | image = | caption = Maulana Fazlullah, in Swat, Pakistan, 2008 | birth_date = {{C.}} {{Birth year|1974}} | birth_place = Swat District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan | death_date = {{death date and age|2018|6|14|1974|df=yes}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/6/15/pakistan-taliban-chief-mullah-fazlullah-killed-in-drone-attack|title=Pakistan Taliban chief Mullah Fazlullah 'killed in drone attack'|website=www.aljazeera.com|access-date=15 June 2018}}</ref><ref name="nbcnews.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/leader-pakistani-taliban-killed-u-s-drone-strike-afghanistan-say-n883446|title=Pakistani Taliban leader killed by U.S. strike, Afghan ministry says|website=nbcnews.com|date=15 June 2018 |access-date=15 June 2018}}</ref> | death_place = Marawara District, Kunar Province, Afghanistan {{small|(present-day Taliban regime)}} | children = Muhammad Hakim,<br/> Abdul Basit (deceased) | office = 2nd Emir of Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi | term_start = January 12, 2002 | term_end = June 14, 2018 | predecessor = Sufi Muhammad | successor = | office1 = 3rd Emir of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan | term_start1 = November 7, 2013 | term_end1 = June 14, 2018 | predecessor1 = Hakimullah Mehsud | successor1 = Noor Wali Mehsud | module = {{Infobox military person |embed = yes |allegiance = 25px Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi <br/> <small>(1992–2018)</small><br/>25px Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan <br/> <small>(2007–2018)</small> |branch = |service_years = 1992–2018 |rank = Emir of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi |battles = {{tree list}} * War in North-West Pakistan ** First Battle of Swat ** Operation Black Thunderstorm ** Operation Zarb-e-Azb ** Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad * War in Afghanistan{{KIA}} {{tree list/end}} }} }}
'''Fazlullah Hayat'''{{Efn|{{langx|ps|فضل اللہ حیات}}}} (1974 – 15 June 2018) was an Islamist jihadist militant who served as the third emir of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from 2013 until his death in 2018. He was also the leader of the Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi.<ref name="et201110172">{{cite news|title=Mullah Radio: Pakistan urges Afghan action against Maulvi Fazlullah|date=17 October 2011|work=The Express Tribune News|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/275813/pakistan-urges-afghan-action-against-taliban-leader/|access-date=17 October 2011}}</ref><ref name="bbc200907102">{{cite news |last=Hasan |first=Syed Shoaib |date=10 July 2009 |title=Swat Taliban chief 'near death' |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8144772.stm |access-date=8 November 2013 |work=BBC News}}</ref> He became the emir of the TTP in 2013, and presided over the descent of the group into factions who are often at conflict with each other.
Fazlullah was designated by the Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council in 2015,<ref>{{Cite web |title=AQ Sanctions List |url=https://www.un.org/securitycouncil/sanctions/1267/aq_sanctions_list |website=un.org}}</ref> and was added to the U.S. State Department's Rewards for Justice wanted list on 7 March 2018.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rewards for Justice - Wanted for Terrorism - Maulana Fazlullah |url=https://rewardsforjustice.net/english/maulana_fazlullah.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616030217/https://rewardsforjustice.net/english/maulana_fazlullah.html |archive-date=16 June 2018 |access-date=15 June 2018 |website=rewardsforjustice.net}}</ref> Fazlullah was killed in June 2018 by a U.S. drone strike in Kunar, Afghanistan.<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 June 2018 |title=Pakistan Taliban leader Mullah Fazlullah killed in U.S. Strike, official says |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pakistan-taliban-leader-mullah-fazlullah-killed-us-drone-strike-afghanistan/ |website=CBS News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=King |first=Laura |date=24 February 2009 |title=Confusion hangs over Pakistan's pact with Taliban |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-pakistan-swat24-2009feb24,0,4127783.story |access-date=24 February 2009 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}</ref><ref name="Ahmed">{{cite news |last=Ahmed |first=Farzand |date=20 August 2009 |title=Window on Pak Press: Jaswant created a royal mess- Dawn |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/window-on-pak-press/story/window-on-pak-press-jaswant-created-a-royal-mess-dawn-54777-2009-08-19 |access-date=8 November 2013 |work=India Today}}</ref>
== Birth and Marriage == Fazlullah Hayat was born in 1974 into a Pashtun family in the Swat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.<ref>{{cite web|first=Khurshid|last=Khan |url=http://www.valleyswat.net/articles/fazalullah_interview.html|title=Exclusive: An interview with Fazalullah|publisher=Valley Swat|date=21 April 2007|access-date=8 November 2013}}</ref><ref name="Roggio">Roggio, Bill (7 July 2007) [http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2007/07/swat_joins_talibanis.php "Swat joins Talibanistan"] ''The Long War Journal'' Public Multimedia Inc.</ref> He belonged to the Babakarkhail branch of the Yusufzai clan of Pashtuns.<ref>{{Cite news |title=فضل اللہ: سوات کے ملاریڈیو سے بین الاقوامی تنازعے تک |url=https://www.bbc.com/urdu/pakistan-44492443 |access-date=2026-02-21 |work=BBC News اردو |language=ur}}</ref>
He married the daughter of Sufi Muhammad, the founder of Tehreek-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 the United States, obtained a photo<ref name="grisanti" /> of Fazlullah in January 2008.
== Militant activity ==
=== Operations in Pakistan === ==== TNSM in Swat ==== On 12 January 2002, Fazlullah became the leader of Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) due to the enforcement of a ban by Pervez Musharraf, former President of Pakistan. The ban led to the arrest and capture of Sufi Muhammad, which placed Fazlullah into the leadership role.<ref name="satp">{{cite web|url=http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/pakistan/terroristoutfits/TNSM.htm|title=Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TSNM), Extremist Group of Pakistan|publisher=SATP|access-date=19 April 2007}}</ref><ref name="jamestown">{{cite news|url=http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=986#.VTP_1fzF-ZM |title=The Black-Turbaned Brigade: The Rise of TNSM in Pakistan |author=Hassan Abbas |publisher=Jamestown Foundation |date=12 April 2006 |access-date=19 April 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930192222/http://jamestown.org/news_details.php?news_id=209 |archive-date=30 September 2007 |url-status=dead |df=dmy }}</ref> Sufi Muhammad was freed in 2008 after he renounced violence.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7359523.stm|title=Top Pakistani militant released|work=BBC News|date=21 April 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090522083516/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7359523.stm|archive-date=22 May 2009|url-status=live|df=dmy-all|access-date=17 February 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Toosi |first=Nahal |title=Taliban to cease fire in Pakistan's Swat Valley |publisher=Yahoo News |date=2 May 2009 |url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090215/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan |access-date=15 February 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090216212653/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090215/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan |archive-date=16 February 2009 }}</ref> Fazlullah managed to restore the organization, bootstrapping on the relief efforts by Islamist extremist groups following the 8 October 2005-earthquake.<ref name="satp"/> New cadres then began moving into the Swat Valley.<ref name=aliz2009217>{{cite news|last=Ali|first=Zulfiqar|author2=Laura King|title=Pakistan officials allow Sharia in volatile region|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=17 February 2009|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-pakistan-pact17-2009feb17,0,6631935.story| access-date=17 February 2009}}</ref><ref name=bbcshariadeal>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7891955.stm|title=Pakistan agrees Sharia law deal|work=BBC News|date=16 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090219160838/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7891955.stm|archive-date=19 February 2009|url-status=live|df=dmy-all|access-date=17 February 2009}}</ref>
==== Alliance with Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan ==== In the aftermath of the 2007 siege of Lal Masjid, Fazlullah's forces and Baitullah Mehsud's Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) formed an alliance. Fazlullah and his army henceforth reportedly received orders from Mehsud.<ref name=rehmatk>{{cite news|last=Rehmat|first=Kamran|title=Swat: Pakistan's lost paradise|work=Al Jazeera |place=Islamabad|date=27 January 2009|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/01/200912512351598892.html|access-date=3 February 2009}}</ref> A temporary cease-fire from May to September 2007 allowed Fazlullah to consolidate his political forces in Swat.<ref name="Roggio"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/267620/swat-cleric|title=Swat cleric 'ends' peace deal|date=22 September 2007|author=Hameedullah Khan|work=Dawn|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071217142252/http://www.dawn.com/2007/09/22/top9.htm|archive-date=17 December 2007|url-status=live|df=dmy-all|access-date=25 October 2007}}</ref>
==== Parallel government ==== With the support of more than 4,500 militants, by late October 2007 Fazlullah had established a "parallel government" in 59 villages in Swat Valley by starting Islamic courts to enforce sharia law.<ref>{{cite news|last=Qayum|first=Khalid|author2=Khaleeq Ahmed|title=Pakistan Deploys Troops in Swat to Curb Militants (Update 1)|work=Bloomberg News|date=25 October 2007|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=akTcKrCtbmWE&refer=uk |access-date=25 February 2009}}</ref><ref name="NYTimes2009-02-25">{{cite news|url=http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/f/maulana_fazlullah/index.html?inline=nyt-per|title=Maulana Fazlullah|date=25 February 2009|newspaper=The New York Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100601031158/http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/f/maulana_fazlullah/index.html?inline=nyt-per|archive-date=1 June 2010|author=Salman Masood|access-date=12 May 2010|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
==== Reports of wounding ==== 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.<ref name=bbc20090710>{{cite news|last=Hasan|first=Syed Shoaib |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8144772.stm |title=Swat Taliban chief 'near death'|work=BBC News|date=10 July 2009|access-date=8 November 2013}}</ref> This was a day after the army announced it had wounded the Taliban chief in the Swat valley.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2009/07/200979172250782249.html|title=Swat valley refugees allowed home |work=Al Jazeera|date=10 July 2009|access-date=8 November 2013}}</ref> The Taliban have denied that Fazlullah was critically injured.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/provinces/12-taliban+reject+claim+about+fazlullah--bi-10 |access-date=12 July 2009 |title=Taliban reject claim about Fazlullah |author=Anwarullah Khan|date=July 12, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090713075010/http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/provinces/12-taliban+reject+claim+about+fazlullah--bi-10 |archive-date=13 July 2009 }}</ref> The Pakistan army, however, refuted this claim and insisted that a man impersonated Fazlullah when he allegedly denied that he was critically injured.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=187399 |access-date=12 July 2009 |title=The News International: Latest News Breaking, Pakistan News }}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
=== Madrassa === thumb|Fazlullah's madrasa at Imam Dherai, Swat. Pakistani security forces bombed and destroyed the compound in early June 2009.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/04-security-forces-blow-up-mullah-fazlullah-hq-qs-07|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090614152720/http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/04-security-forces-blow-up-mullah-fazlullah-hq-qs-07|url-status=dead|title=Security forces blow up Fazlullah's HQ: officials|archivedate=14 June 2009}}</ref>
Fazlullah developed a $US2.5 million madrassa with assistance from the Taliban which was used as his base of operations.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/pakistan703/video/video_index.html |title=Pakistan: State of Emergency Synopsis and Video|work=FRONTLINE/PBS |date=27 December 2007|access-date=8 November 2013}}</ref> It was funded by the JEI faction led by Maulana Sami-ul-haq.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kfwo-Jt2CxYC&q=pakistan+destroy+madrassa+fazlullah&pg=PA111|volume=22|issue=4|title=Executive Summary: Jihadi Anarchy in Swat|journal=Indian Defence Review|date=October–December 2007|page=111|isbn=9788170621508|last1=Verma|first1=Bharat}}</ref>
=== Operations from Afghanistan === 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 the Konar province in Afghanistan.<ref>{{cite book|author=Dana Priest|date=8 November 2013}}</ref> On 26 January 2008, it was reported that Maulvi Abdul Raziq, a close aide of Fazlullah, was arrested in the Kot area of Charbagh.<ref>{{cite news|title=Fazlullah's aide, other militants held in Swat |newspaper=Dawn |date=26 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080302111327/http://www.dawn.com/2008/01/26/top8.htm |archive-date=2 March 2008 |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/286537/fazlullah |access-date=19 January 2009 |url-status=live |df=dmy }}</ref> 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.<ref name="bbc20091117">{{cite news| url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8364243.stm | title=Taliban leader 'flees Pakistan'|work=BBC News|date=17 November 2009|access-date=28 June 2012|author=Kakar, Hai}}</ref>
In October 2011, Maj Gen Athar 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."<ref name="et20111017">{{cite news|title=Mullah Radio: Pakistan urges Afghan action against Maulvi Fazlullah|date=17 October 2011|work=The Express Tribune News|url= http://tribune.com.pk/story/275813/pakistan-urges-afghan-action-against-taliban-leader/|access-date=17 October 2011}}</ref>
In June 2012, a TTP spokesman claimed that Fazlullah was leading attacks on Pakistan from Afghanistan's border provinces.<ref name="et20120626">{{cite news | url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/399205/ttp-admits-to-having-safe-haven-in-afghanistan/ | title=TTP admits to having safe haven in Afghanistan | work=The Express Tribune | date=2012-06-26 | access-date=27 June 2012 | author=Khan, Tahir}}</ref> Reuters indicated that he controlled a 20-km stretch of area in Nuristan province along the Pakistani border.<ref name="reuters20120628">{{cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-militants-fazlullah-idUSBRE85R0H920120628 | title=Pakistan's Fazlullah re-emerges as a security threat | work=Reuters | date=2012-06-28 | agency=Thomson Reuters | access-date=28 June 2012 | author=Georgy, Michael |author2=Jibran Ahmad}}</ref>
On 3 December 2013, it was revealed to the media by TTP spokesperson that Fazlullah has crossed the Pak-Afghan border into Pakistan's tribal areas, he was expected to end the squabbling among the Taliban leadership relating to his appointment as new TTP Chief.<ref>{{cite news|author=AFP |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1060224 |title=Mullah Fazlullah in Pakistan's tribal areas: spokesman |publisher=Dawn.Com |date=2013-12-03 |access-date=2014-02-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Saud Mehsud |url=http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/news/international/New_Pakistani_Taliban_chief_comes_home_to_lead_insurgency.html?cid=37459466#topheader |title=New Pakistani Taliban chief comes home to lead insurgency |publisher=swissinfo.ch |date=2013-12-03 |access-date=2014-02-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207084250/http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/news/international/New_Pakistani_Taliban_chief_comes_home_to_lead_insurgency.html?cid=37459466#topheader |archive-date=7 December 2013 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
=== Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan leadership === After the death of Hakimullah Mehsud in a drone attack, Fazlullah was appointed the new "Emir" (Chief) of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan on 7 November 2013.<ref name=reuters071113>{{cite web|last=Mujtaba |first=Haji |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-taliban-idUSBRE9A60OR20131107 |title=No more peace talks, 'Mullah Radio' tells Pakistan |publisher=Reuters |date=7 November 2013 |access-date=2013-11-08}}</ref> According to Ehsanullah Ehsan, the former spokesperson for TTP, Mullah Fazlullah became the leader via lucky draw.<ref>{{cite web |title=Army releases former TTP spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan's confessional video|url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/1393995/ispr-releases-former-ttp-spokesperson-ehsanullah-ehsans-confessional-video/ |date=26 April 2017 }}</ref>
=== Army Public School attack in Peshawar === {{Main|2014 Peshawar school massacre}} [[File:Army Public School Auditorium.jpg|thumb|Army Public School Auditorium ]] 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 operation Zarb-e-Azab against the militants. Some Pakistani officials claim that Fazlullah masterminded the attack and subsequently hid on the Afghan side of the Durand Line. He narrowly escaped a U.S. drone strike on 25 November 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/796806/precise-drone-strikes-874-killed-in-us-hunt-for-24-terrorists-in-pakistan/|title='Precise' drone strikes: 874 killed in US hunt for 24 terrorists in Pakistan - The Express Tribune|date=25 November 2014|website=tribune.com.pk|access-date=15 June 2018}}</ref>
== Views and opposition to female education ==
In 2001, many seats reserved for women in northern Pakistan went unfilled due in large part to the actions of the TNSM.<ref name="Hussain-Z">Hussain, Zahid (29 July 2005) [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article549196.ece "Frontier women to defy Islamists' men-only ballot"]{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} ''The Times''</ref> 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.''<ref name="Hussain-Z"/>
Fazlullah started an illegal local FM channel in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's Swat Valley in 2006.<ref name=buneri>{{cite news|author=Shaheen Buneri|title=Pakistan Falters Against Taliban in Swat Valley|work=World Politics Review|date=26 January 2009|url=http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/Article.aspx?id=3207|access-date=2 February 2009|archive-date=13 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213105741/http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/article.aspx?id=3207|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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.<ref name="oppel2009126">{{cite news | author = Richard A. Oppel Jr. Pir Zubair Shah, Ismail Khan | title = Radio spreads Taliban's terror in Pakistani region | work= International Herald-Tribune | date=25 January 2009 | url = http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/01/25/asia/25swat.php?page=1 | access-date=26 January 2009}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite news |last = Athar |first = Saleem |title = Mohmand Taliban behead 6 'criminals' |publisher = Daily Times |date = 2007-10-13 |url = http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C10%5C13%5Cstory_13-10-2007_pg1_3 |access-date = 2009-01-19 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090226232439/http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C10%5C13%5Cstory_13-10-2007_pg1_3 |archive-date = 26 February 2009 |df = dmy-all }}</ref>
He led a drive of eradicating vices such as music, dancing, and of what he calls "major sources of sin" such as TVs, CDs, computers and other video equipment by burning the electronics or the shops in which they are housed.<ref>{{cite news |last = Khan |first = Marvaiz |title = Music centres threatened by religious extremists |work = Freemuse |date = 2007-03-10 |url = http://www.freemuse.org/sw17890.asp |access-date = 2009-01-19 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071020003835/http://freemuse.org/sw17890.asp |archive-date = 20 October 2007 |url-status = dead |df = dmy-all }}</ref> Fazlullah threatened barbers who shaved their customers' beards and warned against girls attending schools.<ref name=grisanti>{{cite news |last = Grisanti |first = Carol |title = Pakistani terrorist revealed in new photo |work = NBC News |date = 2008-01-09 |url = http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/01/09/565301.aspx |access-date = 2009-01-19 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090129210933/http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/01/09/565301.aspx |archive-date = 29 January 2009 |df = dmy-all }}</ref>
He opposed a polio vaccination drive in Khyber-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 considered Hepatitis 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 the World Health Organization vaccination program as a threat and in some cases the immunization teams were physically beaten.<ref> {{cite news | last = Yusufzai | first = Ashfaq | title = Impotence fears hit polio drive | work = BBC News | date = 2007-01-25 | url = https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6299325.stm | access-date = 2009-01-19 }}</ref>
On 9 October 2012, an assassin instructed by Fazlullah shot Malala Yousafzai.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24854087|title=Pakistan Taliban name Mullah Fazlullah new leader|work=BBC News|date=7 November 2013|access-date=7 November 2013}}</ref> Although the attack was meant to kill Yousafzai, it made her a very respected and prominent leader.<ref>{{Citation|author=Yousafzai, Malala|title=I am Malala : how one girl stood up for education and changed the world|isbn=9781478902331|oclc=896069870}}</ref>
== Death == 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 in Kunar Province, Afghanistan.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2018/06/15/ttp-chief-mullah-fazlullah-reportedly-killed-in-us-drone-strike-in-afghanistan/|title=Pakistani Taliban chief Mullah Fazlullah killed in Afghanistan|work=Pakistan Today|date=15 June 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/mullah-radio-man-who-shot-malala-reportedly-killed-by-us-in-drone-strike-10-points/articleshow/64597497.cms|title='Mullah Radio', the man who shot Malala, reportedly killed by the US in drone strike: 10 points|work=The Times of India|date=15 June 2018}}</ref><ref name="nbcnews.com"/> The TTP confirmed his death and announced Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud alias Abu Mansoor Asim as their new leader.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-usa-militant/pakistani-taliban-appoints-new-chief-after-previous-leader-killed-in-drone-strike-idUSKBN1JJ0QS |title=Pakistani Taliban appoints new chief after previous leader killed in drone strike |last1=Ahmad |first1=Jibran |last2=Mehsud |first2=Saud |date=June 23, 2018 |website=Reuters |access-date=June 29, 2018}}</ref>
== See also == * Adnan Rashid * Baitullah Mehsud * Malala Yousafzai
== Notes == {{notelist}}
== References == {{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}
== External links == * [https://www.dawn.com/news/235740/imam-warns-police-against-his-arrest-fir-registered "Imam warns police against his arrest; FIR registered" 3 March 2007] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20090129210933/http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/01/09/565301.aspx NBC News obtains photograph of Fazlullah]
{{s-start}} {{s-mil}} {{s-bef|before=Hakimullah Mehsud}} {{s-ttl|title=Leader of Pakistani Taliban|years=2013–2018}} {{S-aft|after= Noor Wali Mehsud}} {{end}}
{{Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fazlullah, Maulana}} Category:1974 births Category:2018 deaths Category:Pashtun people Category:Pakistani radio personalities Category:Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan members Category:People from Swat District Category:Pakistani expatriates in Afghanistan Category:Pakistani Islamists Category:Deaths by American drone strikes in Afghanistan Category:People designated by the Al-Qaida and Taliban Sanctions Committee Category:Leaders of jihadist groups