Pakistani journalist watches a newly released video of radical Pakistani cleric Maulana Fazlullah in Peshawar
Miranshah, Pakistan:
The Pakistani Taliban on Thursday elected Maulana Fazlullah as their new chief following the death of the previous leader in a US drone strike.
Fazlullah led the Taliban's brutal two-year rule in Pakistan's northwest valley of Swat in 2007-2009 before a military operation retook the area.
He takes over leadership of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) after Hakimullah Mehsud was killed in a US drone strike last Friday.
The announcement was made by TTP caretaker leader Asmatullah Shaheen at a press conference in an undisclosed location in northwest Pakistan.
There was heavy gunfire in celebration in Miranshah, the main town in the North Waziristan tribal area.
The killing of Mehsud on Friday came as government representatives prepared to meet the TTP with a view to opening peace talks.
The drone strike triggered an angry response from Islamabad, with Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar accusing Washington of sabotaging peace efforts.
During Fazlullah's rule in Swat, the Taliban enforced a rigorous version of Islamic law, publicly beheading and flogging wrongdoers and burning schools.
Fazlullah led the Taliban's brutal two-year rule in Pakistan's northwest valley of Swat in 2007-2009 before a military operation retook the area.
He takes over leadership of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) after Hakimullah Mehsud was killed in a US drone strike last Friday.
The announcement was made by TTP caretaker leader Asmatullah Shaheen at a press conference in an undisclosed location in northwest Pakistan.
There was heavy gunfire in celebration in Miranshah, the main town in the North Waziristan tribal area.
The killing of Mehsud on Friday came as government representatives prepared to meet the TTP with a view to opening peace talks.
The drone strike triggered an angry response from Islamabad, with Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar accusing Washington of sabotaging peace efforts.
During Fazlullah's rule in Swat, the Taliban enforced a rigorous version of Islamic law, publicly beheading and flogging wrongdoers and burning schools.
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