Fearing backlash: Swat residents ignore Fazlullah’s demise

Residents fear the rise of ex-TTP chief’s deputy, Fateh Ustad

PESHAWAR: With reports that the man who spoke from a remote radio station in the mountains of Swat before raining terror on the valleys below was dead, it was expected that residents of the scenic Swat valley would march into the streets in celebration that their oppressor was no more.

Despite the event overlapping with the annual religious festival of Eidul Fitr, there was no such widespread celebration to be seen

Residents of Swat had been persecuted for years by Mullah Fazlullah and his associates as he kept a stranglehold of terror on the valley before military operations forced him to flee the valley and find refuge across the border in Kunar province of Afghanistan.



On June 13, a US drone strike reportedly killed Fazlullah along with his associates in Afghanistan.

Some say people were busy in the Eid preparations and celebrations and did not even notice that their former oppressor was no more.

Others, though, suggest that the people of Swat still fear the Taliban. With terror activities continuing, even after the TTP leadership was forced from the valley following a military operation, people fear there could be a backlash, especially targeting those who celebrate Mullah Fazlullah’s death.

Some, however, say that Fazlullah’s successor, Umar Rehman alias Fateh Ustad — who apparently also hailed from Swat — was considered by many to be far more lethal than the former TTP chief and this could be the reason why many are silent.

“Yes, we saw everything. The way he would slaughter people and leave the bodies in Khooni (deadly) square, I think people are still afraid and this could be the reason why nobody is ready to talk,” a Swat resident said.

He stated that while Fazlullah may be dead, people fear that Fateh could take up the mantle, kicking off a darker chapter.



Born in Shormata area of district Swat, Fateh, who is likely to lead TTP after Fazlullah was killed, participated in the Afghan war and fought against the invading US forces until around 2007. He then returned home and joined the TTP, rising quickly to become a member of TTP’s Shura (governing body) in district Swat and was asked to command activities in the valley.

His first activity on Pakistani soil is said to be his involvement in an attack on former dictator General (retd) Pervez Musharraf in Rawalpindi.

“As soon as the military operation was launched against the militants in Swat in 2009, Fateh along with his associates and the TTP leadership. including Fazlullah, fled to Afghanistan and took shelter in Kunar,” a senior security official said, adding, “In Kunar, Fateh would train militants and lead terror activities in Pakistan.”

The official further shared that Fateh had formed the Khaksar Group, a seven-member group, which intended to carry out terror activities in Swat adding besides leading terror activities; Fateh was also second in command to the former TTP chief Fazlullah. was killed while reportedly travelling in a vehicle along with four other commanders when he was targeted by a remotely-piloted US aircraft at 11 pm on June 13 in Afghanistan’s Kunar province. The deadly drone strike was confirmed by Afghanistan’s ministry of defence.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 19^th, 2018.