In early 2009, Maulana Fazlullah, the Emir of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) for Pakistan's Swat district, imposed a total ban on girls' education in the Swat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Following a Shari'a-for-peace deal with the government, the militants loyal to Maulana Fazlullah began enforcing Islamic Shari'a in Swat and adjoining areas.
Their total ban on female education led to an international outcry, and the Pakistani government reluctantly ordered a military operation in May 2009. Maulana Fazlullah's fighters went underground and hundreds of them were also captured by the Pakistani military, and their safe havens in Swat districts were bombed.
Maulana Fazlullah went underground. According to various conflicting media reports, he was captured by the Pakistani Army at some point last year, but released mysteriously from the military custody. Early this year, various reports indicated that the TTP commander had been fighting alongside Pakistani militants against the U.S. and NATO troops in the Nuristan province of Afghanistan.
Now, a new video has emerged of Maulana Fazlullah. In the video, Maulana Fazlullah addresses Islamic scholars and mujahideen, exhorting them to work for the enforcement of Islamic Shari'a in Pakistan, and stating that the British-era rules are enforced in Pakistan while Allah's law is awaiting enforcement.
