Attempt to silence: Mullah Radio sent ‘hit squad’ after Malala

Swat Taliban spokesman says Malala’s father also on hit list.


Reuters October 13, 2012

PESHAWAR:


Fugitive Taliban commander Maulana Fazlullah carefully briefed two killers from his “special hit squad” on their next target.


The gunmen weren’t targeting an army officer, politician or foreign diplomat. Their target was a 14-year-old schoolgirl who had angered the Taliban by speaking out for Western-style girls’ education.

Tuesday’s shooting of Malala Yousafzai was the culmination of years of campaigning that had pitted the fearless, smiling young girl against one of the most ruthless Taliban commanders.

Their story began in 2009, when Fazlullah, known as Radio Mullah for his fiery radio broadcasts, took over Swat Valley, and ordered the closure of girls schools, including Malala’s.

Outraged, the then-11-year-old kept a blog for the BBC under a pen name and later launched a campaign for girls’ education. It won her the highest civilian honour and death threats from the Taliban.

While a military offensive pushed Fazlullah out of Swat in 2009, his men simply melted away across the border to Afghanistan.

Yousufzai continued speaking out despite the danger. As her fame grew, Fazlullah tried everything he could to silence her. The Taliban published death threats in the newspapers and slipped them under her door. But she ignored them.

The Taliban say that’s why they sent assassins, despite a tribal code forbidding the killing of women.

“We had no intentions to kill her but were forced when she would not stop (speaking against us),” said Sirajuddin Ahmad, a spokesman for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Swat chapter, now based in eastern Afghan province of Kunar.

He said the Taliban held a meeting a few months ago and unanimously agreed to kill her. The task was then given to commanders to carry out.

The militia has a force of around 100 men specialised in targeted killing, fighters said. They chose two men, aged between 20 and 30, who were locals from Swat Valley.

The gunmen had proved their worth in previous assassinations, killing an opposition politician and attacking a leading hotelier for “obscenity” in promoting tourism.

“Before the attack, the two fighters personally collected information about Malala’s route to school, timing, the vehicle she used and her security,” Sirajuddin said.

They decided to shoot her near a military checkpoint to make the point they could strike anywhere, he added.

On Tuesday, the two men stopped the bus she was riding home in. They asked for Malala by name. Although the frightened girls said she wasn’t there, the men fired at her and also hit two other girls in the van. One of them remains in critical condition.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 13th, 2012.

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