TTP chief on the run: US designates Fazlullah as global terrorist
By
News Desk
Published: January 14, 2015
The United States has put Maulana Fazlullah, the fugitive chief of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), on its list of global terrorists.
Maulana Fazlullah, who is believed to be hiding in northeastern Afghanistan, had
claimed responsibility for the methodical killing of 150 people – 132 of them schoolchildren – at the Army Public School in Peshawar on December 16.
“The Department of State has designated Maulana Fazlullah, also known as Mullah Fazlullah, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, which targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism,” a spokesperson said in a media statement – available on the State Department website.
“The consequences of these designations include a prohibition against US persons engaging in transactions with Fazlullah, and the freezing of all property and interests of Fazlullah that are in the United States, or come within the United States or the possession or control of US persons,” it adds.
The State Department designated the TTP as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on September 1, 2010. The TTP was also listed at the United Nations 1267/1989 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee on July 29, 2011.
Maulana Fazlullah was elected TTP chief in November 2013, following the death of his predecessor Hakimullah Mehsud. Prior to that, he had led a bloody campaign for the enforcement of his own interpretation of Sharia law in Swat until he and his loyalists were routed in a military operation in 2009.
Apart from the Peshawar school massacre, Fazlullah also claimed he was behind the killing of
Major-General Sanaullah Niazi in September 2013, as well as ordering the shooting of schoolgirl and activist Malala Yousafzai in 2012. Fazlullah was responsible for the beheading of 17 Pakistani paramilitary soldiers after an attack in June 2012 and also ordered the targeted killings of elders who led peace committees against the Taliban.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 14th, 2015.
US designates Mullah Fazlullah as a 'global terrorist'
Dawn.com
Undated photo taken from video by the TTP's Umar Media propaganda wing shows its leader Mullah Fazlullah.
WASHINGTON: The US State Department on Tuesday designated Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Mullah Fazlullah as a ‘global terrorist’.
According to a
State Department press release, Fazlullah has been labeled a ‘Specially Designated Global Terrorist’ under Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, which targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism.
The consequences of these designations include a prohibition against American citizens engaging in transactions with Fazlullah, and the freezing of all property and interests of Fazlullah that are in the United States, or come within the United States or the possession or control of US persons, the statement said.
Fazlullah was elected TTP commander in November 2013, following the death of former leader Hakimullah Mehsud.
Read also: Pakistani Taliban elect Mullah Fazlullah as new chief
Under the leadership of Fazlullah, TTP claimed responsibility for the December 16, 2014 attack on a school in Peshawar that resulted in the deaths of at least 148 people, mostly students.
Prior to becoming TTP leader, Fazlullah claimed he was behind the killing of Pakistani Army Major General Sanaullah Niazi in September 2013, as well as ordering the shooting of schoolgirl and activist Malala Yousafzai in 2012.
The State Department designated TTP as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on September 1, 2010.
TTP was also listed at the United Nations 1267/1989 Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee on July 29, 2011.