...son-in-law of holy man Sufi Mohammad. Known as Mullah FM, Fazlullah had the habit of grabbing his FM mike when the mood struck him and bellowing forth sermons. Sufi suckered the Pak govt into imposing Shariah on the Swat Valley and then stepped aside whilst Fazlullah and his Talibs imposed a reign of terror on the populace like they hadn't seen before, at least not for a thousand years or so. For some reason the Pak intel services were never able to locate his transmitter, much less bomb it. After ruling the place like a conquered province for a year or so, Fazlullah's Talibs began gobbling up more territory as they pushed toward Islamabad, at which point as a matter of self-preservation the Mighty Pak Army threw them out and chased them into Afghanistan...
appear to have suffered a serious blow as the newly formed splinter group Jamatul Ahrar claims that it has the support of 70 to 80 per cent of TTP commanders and fighters. The group says they are not under TTP's command any more.
Speaking to Dawn, Ehsanullah Ehsan
...formerly the front man for the Pak Taliban, now the lips and tongue of the Jamaatul Ahrar splinter group in Mohmand Agency...
, the spokesperson for the new group Jamatul Ahrar, claimed that they were administratively a separate group now. Responding to a query if they would follow the orders of the TTP Ameer, he said: "We, Jamatul Ahrar, have been administratively separated from them now."
When questioned further about the control exercised by the Mullah Fazlullah-led Taliban, Ehsan said: "I'll not comment on this question, however, I can claim about 70 to 80 per cent of the TTP, including Swat, is now part of TTP Jamatul Ahrar".
'Pakistain first'
The Jamatul Ahrar spokesperson added that the group was focused on the implementation of Shariah globally, but as a starting point, "Pakistain is our first preference". He was responding to a question on whether the group would focus attacks on US/NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all....
forces in Afghanistan.
The newly formed group claimed its first attack on the Khasadar force in Jamrud which left three personnel dead and one person injured.
Key commanders belonging to the outlawed TTP had announced the formation of TTP Jamatul Ahrar last month, with Maulana Qasim Khorasani as the new Ameer.