Pakistani Taliban Pick New Leader

Must have been denouncing The Daily Beast that tipped the scales. The Pakistani Taliban chose hardliner Mullah Fazlullah as its new leader last week, suggesting the organization is moving toward more toward violent attacks and refusal to compromise. “This is a very calculated step by the Taliban meant to transform it from a tribal group to an ideological group,” said Zia Ur Rehman, a Karachi-based journalist. Fazlullah is a harsh critic of the Pakistani government, and is the first Taliban leader from heart of Pakistan and not the tribal region of North Waziristan—and has weak tribal ties to the area. . Fazlullah, known as “Radio Mullah” for his fiery broadcasts on an illegal FM radio station, is believed to be the mullah who ordered the attack last year on Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai.