The election of Maulana Fazlullah, notorious for leading the militants' brutal two-year rule in the Swat valley, is like a "red rag to a bull", one analyst said.
It could also raise tensions with Kabul at a critical juncture as US-led forces withdraw from Afghanistan after 12 years of war.
While Kabul has long accused Islamabad of supporting the Afghan Taliban, Fazlullah has orchestrated cross-border attacks from his hideout in eastern Afghanistan, and Pakistan suspects its neighbour's intelligence services of supporting him.
Fazlullah, nicknamed Mullah Radio for his fiery sermons over the airwaves denouncing polio vaccination campaigns and female education, is renowned as an uncompromising commander.
Intelligence agencies believes he is linked to the failed attempt to kill schoolgirl education activist Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in Swat in October 2012.
He was appointed chief of the TTP on November 7, nearly a week after a US drone strike killed his predecessor Hakimullah Mehsud.
Islamabad reacted angrily to the killing of Mehsud, with the interior minister saying Washington had "sabotaged" peace talks.
It is not clear what progress, if any, had been made towards meaningful dialogue - but the process lies in tatters after Fazlullah's election.
The militants dismissed the idea of peace talks with the government as a "waste of time", and said they would never negotiate until sharia law was imposed across the country.
Defence analyst Talat Masood, a retired general, said the TTP's choice of Fazlullah, whose men have carried out bloody and humiliating attacks against the army, was like a "red rag to a bull".
"This leaves no margin for negotiation and they will have to resort to a military operation and will have to be fully prepared to prevent terrorist actions in the country," Masood told AFP.
"He is enemy number one of the military."
In September, political parties backed the government's proposal for talks to try to end the TTP's six-year insurgency, which has killed thousands.
Fazlullah's men responded by killing two senior army officers, including a major general, in a roadside bomb - a galling blow to the military.
Fazlullah rubbed salt in the wounds by issuing a video message to claim the attack and to reveal the intended target was Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.
In 2009 a major military operation ended Fazlullah's rule in Swat. Later that year another offensive cleared militant hideouts in South Waziristan, one of the seven tribal areas along the Afghan border seen as a haven for Taliban and al Qaeda militants.
Washington has pushed for a similar offensive in North Waziristan, which has borne the brunt of the US drone campaign targeting suspected militants, but none has yet taken place.
A senior security source told AFP a military operation would "become inevitable" if, as seems likely, dialogue does not proceed, and warned of worsening relations with Kabul.
"The government and the military top brass in almost all previous rounds of meetings with their Afghan interlocutors have been pointing out Fazlullah's presence on Afghan soil and his activities against the Pakistani state," the source said.
Kayani is to retire on November 29 and his replacement as army chief has yet to be announced. The security official said Fazlullah's appointment would have a bearing on the decision.
"The priority will now be to have a person on this post, who has expertise in counter insurgency and related matters," the official said.
Correction: In an earlier version of this article, it was incorrectly mentioned that Fazlullah was appointed as TTP chief on October 7 instead of November 7. The error has been fixed.
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COMMENTS (47)
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@Gratgy:
That was a great read, thanks. Again, one cannot help but feel betrayed yet again by our military establishment with the news of where Mehsud was hiding.
@someone: I think you are only considering direct effects but it is imperative that we also keep in mind the indirect effects, even a fool knows that the spill over effects of war in FATA was witnessed more in settled areas. Every sector suffered, may it be destruction of infrastructure (a single attack on PNS Mehran costed $ 150 million, price of a P3 C Orion aircraft is around $ 50 million, Saab 2000 at Kamra is another example, 1,030 schools and colleges were destroyed also keep in mind the grid stations, electricity lines, bridges and millions of homes) , cost of war, destruction of tourism industry, Agriculture and sports, affects on Foreign Investment, Joblessness in affected areas, displacement of millions of people, expenditure on extra security for every installation and rehabilitation and compensation for families of all those who were killed or disabled in 235 suicide bombings, 9,257 rocket attacks and 4,256 misc attacks in the past five years. For 12 years we have suffered and $ 60 billion seems like a cooked up figure?. In 2001 IMF estimated the direct costs of 9 /11 attacks on US as equal to $21.4 billion while, Navarro and Spencer (2001) found that the loss of capital stock was $50 billion to $53 billion. (2 buildings and $ 74 billion, now that seems to be a cooked up figure). The point is not that we lost 60 billion or 125 billion, the point to ponder is that we are being destroyed and also given a lollipop to prove that they are our friends but infact they are not. Our economy cannot support this war anymore and we need to get rid of this trap as soon as possible,
@Hemant: And before that, Kayani was DGMO (Director General Military Operations). Attacks on air force base and naval base happened under his watch, and so did Osama operation and the Salala incident.
@antanu: Kayani has been the DG ,ISI and COAS for the last 10 years . TTP was first created , later tolerated and now feared all during Kayani's watch . Kayani can never be part of the solution . He is part of the problem .
Pakistan should forget now the talks and take military action....question is will the military will be given a go ahead by NAWAZ? It is also necessary to retain Kayani.
Oh good now IK and supporters can send valentines to this clown , while he busily slits the throat of all and sundry he doesnt like...........
@Mehmood Ghaznavi: I wonder where did Pakistanis got a figure of loss of $60 billion.I would like to see the actual data because sometimes I feel this is all cooked up by Pakistani politicians to demand more aid from US/NATO. Even if all the high rise and expensive properties of Karachi/Lahore/Islamabad are evaluated, they may not be equal to 60 Billion dollars so imagining such a huge loss can occur in areas like Waziristan, KP, Swat etc is a bit too much exaggeration. Now of course you can't put an amount on human loss so we can't include that for sure.Were KP/Swat/Waziristan running huge industry that got destroyed and impacted Pakistani export? No. Was there huge infrastructure that got destoyed? No. How that $60 billion was calculated is a mystery. May be any one from Pakistan explain it to the rest of the world. As for Indians/US want Pakistan army to help in destroying Taliban/TTP ilk , well is it not the main objective for Pakistan to get money from CSF? Well the issue is Pakistan army is still trying to have some sort of influence in Afghanistan. Pakistan knows it does not have money to invest infrastructure in Afghanistan while India can do that and as we all know money speaks. So what is other way for Pakistan to keep influence other than to have a Taliban government who would not care for infrastructure/education etc. but just for the implement of Sharia. Taliban would still keep making money by drug/guns business. However GoP needs to understand is that whatever is bad for your neighbor is bad for itself too because Taliban is not limited to Afghanistan now.
@Shamy: Pak Army needs to launch not an "Offensive" but a "Jihadi Style" Crackdown on all anti-social elements and Kill them. Pak Army needs to do its job and should be given no more than 6 months. In 2 years, they did a half hearted job. It should have cleaned out the areas one at a time starting with Swat, Waziristan followed by FATA.
After claiming Taliban as the biggest enemy of Pakistan, why is the Pak Army sitting on its haunches? What does it think its job is? How much time does it need to get started and how much to finish the job?
Pak Army is not generating confidence in nations' citizens' in its ability to take care of nations interests, in what would be considered very basic duties.
Why doesn't Pakistan just make Shariah the law of the land and create a "Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice" with Imran Khan as it's leader to please the Taliban?
Perhaps then the TTP will abandon its war.
This news report above and its contents are only with the purpose but we pakis understand now but wont react as desired.
@Rahul: For sure we know who has armed,trained,launched them because some countries came as friends and hijacked everything and after 2014 neighbors involved with them will be sorted out properly and for us it is a period of sacrifice and patience.
What Pakistan government and Army doing for the last twelve years. They just played double games and now going helter-skelter. All the military dictators, Benazir Bhutto, Nawaz Sheriff and Musharraf are the fellows who created this monster.
The last Taliban leader was responsible for beheading soldiers and the military didn't do anything - why would the appt of this guy warrant military action?
Now every paki are crying for US help to get rid of taliban leaders.Just week before they are complaining against drone strikes.US knows well that paki never to be trusted.
Mind my words you guys.....this guy fazlullah has been nominated by spending CASH by the USA to keep the ongoing act of terrorism in Pakistan to such an extent that they can create hype that our N assets seem to be unsafe unabling Americans to step in to save this world.....he has been given safe haven on the border of PakAfghan border in a place between nuristan and kunar provine to be used against Pakistan on an oppurtune time and this was the day and time....Americans decide the day and time not Pakistan and Afghanistan.....the so called peace talks has gone for a sixer.....fasten your seatbelts my dear Countrymen.....prepare for the worst and pray........may Allah swt gives us the strength and unite us as one nation, leaving all differences aside, to fight for the survival of our Country. This is the truth and we must face it...gone are those days to live like an ostrich....please ! Time has come for Allah swt wrath to befall on all those hipocrites who will soon be exposed.....we may not live but we must live to save our country for our next generation who can call it their home......let us come out of our self made cocoon based on false hope that America is our friend....NO SIR, NO.....we are our own enemy, because we continued to suck the blood from the veins of our country,left right and center, through corruption, dishonesty, unlawful activity, not following laws and constitution etc; going around in most expensive suites begging the world for loans and aids while our elites, bureaucrats and Politicians are busy in looting and plundering our country and stacking their ill gotten money abroad....in such a state do we have the courage to look eye to eye and demand the Americans to stop their nefarious act ? Like Iran....since 1997 after the Iranian revolution....Iran has changed to such an extent that today they have the balls to talk to the America on their terms....they had the courage to bring down 2 drones and 1 drone intact and they claim to repeat if the Americans do it again....do we have such BALLS !
Everywhere Indians and Americans are saying that Pakistan will have to fight TTP, no room for negotiations, Why dont USA keep killing them with drones? why they wait for years and when the TTP leader opt for talks he is eliminated (e.g Nek Muhammad, Baitullah, Wali Ur Rehman, Hakim Ullah) , Fazalullah is in Afghanistan, why don't they kill him in their own territory?. TTP never attacked Indians then why Indians are crying out loud that Pakistan Army should take them on?, why so much interest ?. The answer is quite simple, They want us to keep fighting this proxy war. we lost 40,000 lives and more than 60 Billion $ to this war and they give us lollipop of 1.6 Billion. TTP are Pakistanis and Pakistanis suffered in this war, we have the right to do whatever we want, we dont need any lecture from Indians and Americans.
@Salman: We don't need American support or aid to eliminate these barbarians. Our army is capable to do the job. We have best soldiers and front line officers. Problem is with top brass and civilian rulers.
Which party is the bull here ? Taliban or Pak Army ? My vote goes for Taliban as Pak Army and government are desperately waving the white flag.
So now both the parties enjoy clouds of war hanging over their head which means more military aid more killings of innocents and those who want this all sits in their cozy houses and enjoying a cup of wine ...
what a true believer!! we should respect him and then we can please Allah.
In Pakistan power has always flowed from the barrel of a gun, with the Constitution often being thrown into the dustbin and retrieved from there. I think the best way to get Mullah Radio will be to entice Bees to build a beehive in his magnificent beard.
Come on Pakistan Military show them the might of your power! Drag this radio mullah in the streets of Pakistan and them execute him!
its funny that the "fierce and brave fazlullah" finds victory in attacking unarmed, innocent school girls. What an act of valor, right?
There is a typo error in article. Date of his appointment is not October 7.
Another mistake by Taleban
@Ghostrider: I hope so too...but how many rats are they going to kill...one dies, another is born...whats the conclusion ?
This party needs a drone celebration. Come on USA, do us another favor.
I wish military launch an offensive and not allowing him to escape. This time kill the rat in his hole