JULY 19 - Taliban leader Fazlullah aka "Mullah Radio" and "FM Mullah" addressed the residents of Swat via his illegal radio station a few days ago, the first such broadcast since reports emerged that the Taliban leader was injured during the military operation in the district.
Fazlullah has not been heard on the radio for months after the military launched a major operation to clear the Taliban from Swat and the neighboring districts of Dir and Buner at the end of April.
“Fazlullah was heard on his illegal FM radio channel three or four days ago,” residents of Mingora city told Daily Times by phone. However, they added, the Taliban leader seemed to have lost his drive and was not as aggressive when referring to the security forces as he had once been. “You can feel as if the operation has taken the sting out of him,” they said.
Fazlullah's broadcasts were infamous for the anti-government screeds and the radical interpretations of Islam. He was nicknamed Mullah FM and Radio Mullah for pioneering the use of illegal radio broadcasts to promote his radical agenda.
The residents, however, were unable to confirm whether Fazlullah was broadcasting live or whether it was a pre-recorded message to keep the government confused about his present status.
Residents of Swat became glued to the radio as Fazlullah would issue lists of government and security officials, as well as tribal leaders who were to be executed for opposing the Taliban. Fazlullah would also campaign against polio vaccination drives, insisting the shots were a Jewish plot to sterilize Muslims, and railed against young girls attending school. More than 200 schools have been torched by the Taliban in Swat since 2007.
Fazlullah's re-emergence on the airwaves crushed the Pakistan government and the military's claim that he gravely wounded during fighting in his home town. Fazlullah was reported to have been killed, wounded and surrounded multiple times since the operation began.
Last week, Swat Taliban spokesman Mullah Omar said Fazlullah was alive, along with all of the group's senior leadership.
"Fazlullah is safe and the government claim is totally baseless," Omar told journalists. He also said the Taliban leadership had gone underground "as part of their overall strategy" once the Army launched operations in Buner, Dir, and Swat, Daily Times reported.
Both the government and the military have claimed that Swat is now over 90 percent cleared of the Taliban and called an end to major military operations. The government has urged internally displaced people who fled the violence to return to their homes in Swat and neighboring Buner.
The military is also planning to build bases in Swat and Buner, and plans on remaining in the region for two years.
But reports from the region paint a less than positive picture of the security situation in Swat and Buner. The government is being accused of pushing the internally displaced people out of camps by providing poor services, and are sending them back to regions where the fighting is still ongoing, according to Newsweek.
The Taliban are still able to control ground in Buner, where the military also claimed the Taliban had been defeated more than a month ago. According to local residents in Buner, the Taliban are active in many of the major towns, and have been seen setting up a checkpoint where they seen "singling out government officials and their opponents," according to The News.
A group called the Aman Tehrik, or Peace Movement, was highly critical of the military operation in Swat, Dir, and Buner. The group said the military operation was "nominal" and failed to kill or capture "third rank" Taliban leaders.
The Aman Tehrik said "terrorist leaders were still safe and their sanctuaries were intact in Swat and Buner," according to Dawn.
The Amam Tehrik opposes the establishment of military bases in Swat and Buner, and said the building of these bases would inflame the situation.
Fazlullah has not been heard on the radio for months after the military launched a major operation to clear the Taliban from Swat and the neighboring districts of Dir and Buner at the end of April.“Fazlullah was heard on his illegal FM radio channel three or four days ago,” residents of Mingora city told Daily Times by phone. However, they added, the Taliban leader seemed to have lost his drive and was not as aggressive when referring to the security forces as he had once been. “You can feel as if the operation has taken the sting out of him,” they said.
Fazlullah's broadcasts were infamous for the anti-government screeds and the radical interpretations of Islam. He was nicknamed Mullah FM and Radio Mullah for pioneering the use of illegal radio broadcasts to promote his radical agenda.
The residents, however, were unable to confirm whether Fazlullah was broadcasting live or whether it was a pre-recorded message to keep the government confused about his present status.
Residents of Swat became glued to the radio as Fazlullah would issue lists of government and security officials, as well as tribal leaders who were to be executed for opposing the Taliban. Fazlullah would also campaign against polio vaccination drives, insisting the shots were a Jewish plot to sterilize Muslims, and railed against young girls attending school. More than 200 schools have been torched by the Taliban in Swat since 2007.
Fazlullah's re-emergence on the airwaves crushed the Pakistan government and the military's claim that he gravely wounded during fighting in his home town. Fazlullah was reported to have been killed, wounded and surrounded multiple times since the operation began.
Last week, Swat Taliban spokesman Mullah Omar said Fazlullah was alive, along with all of the group's senior leadership.
"Fazlullah is safe and the government claim is totally baseless," Omar told journalists. He also said the Taliban leadership had gone underground "as part of their overall strategy" once the Army launched operations in Buner, Dir, and Swat, Daily Times reported.
Both the government and the military have claimed that Swat is now over 90 percent cleared of the Taliban and called an end to major military operations. The government has urged internally displaced people who fled the violence to return to their homes in Swat and neighboring Buner.
The military is also planning to build bases in Swat and Buner, and plans on remaining in the region for two years.
But reports from the region paint a less than positive picture of the security situation in Swat and Buner. The government is being accused of pushing the internally displaced people out of camps by providing poor services, and are sending them back to regions where the fighting is still ongoing, according to Newsweek.
The Taliban are still able to control ground in Buner, where the military also claimed the Taliban had been defeated more than a month ago. According to local residents in Buner, the Taliban are active in many of the major towns, and have been seen setting up a checkpoint where they seen "singling out government officials and their opponents," according to The News.
A group called the Aman Tehrik, or Peace Movement, was highly critical of the military operation in Swat, Dir, and Buner. The group said the military operation was "nominal" and failed to kill or capture "third rank" Taliban leaders.
The Aman Tehrik said "terrorist leaders were still safe and their sanctuaries were intact in Swat and Buner," according to Dawn.
The Amam Tehrik opposes the establishment of military bases in Swat and Buner, and said the building of these bases would inflame the situation.
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