Taliban split over new leader
A bitter feud has broken among the Pakistani Taliban over who should take over the group’s leadership from Hakimullah Mehsud, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike two weeks ago.
The post was due to go to Maulana Fazlullah, a ruthless mullah from Pakistan’s Swat Valley area who ordered t he shooting of Malala Yousafzai, the schoolgirl blogger who spoke out against the Taliban.
But when he was officially confirmed in the position at a secret meeting of the Taliban’s high command last week, it sparked a walkout by commanders from a rival faction.
“When Fazlullah’s name was announced, they … walked out saying, ‘The Taliban’s command is doomed,’” said one Taliban figure who attended the meeting in an interview with Reuters.
The argument over the succession has exposed longrunning tensions within the Pakistani Taliban, who are in effect a loose conglomeration of about 30 different militia groups.
In recent years, the movement has been dominated by the Mehsud tribe, with the recently killed Hakimullah Mehsud having taken over the leadership from his brother Baitullah Mehsud, who himself died in a drone strike in 2009.
Despite his reputation as a hardliner’s hardliner, Mr. Fazlullah is considered a relative outsider within the ranks, as he hails from the Swat Val-
There are reports of serious infighting
ley rather than the Taliban’s traditional strongholds in Pakistan’s tribally administered region in the northwest.
That is where one of the main other contenders for the leadership comes from — Khan Said, an illiterate whose main previous responsibility has been recruiting and training suicide bombers.
“Mehsuds are not only not happy with this appointment, there are reports of serious infighting among them that might come to the fore in the near future,” said Saifullah Mahsud, director of the FATA Research Centre, a Pakistani think tank.
While a failure to agree on a new leader could compromise the group’s operation effectiveness, it could also lead to even more bloodshed as different commanders and factions embark on their own rampages.