Topic: Maulana Fazlullah

Maulana Fazlullah, (born 1979) nicknamed the "Radio Mullah" or "Mullah Radio", is the leader of Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM), a banned Pakistani Islamic fundamentalist militant group, allied to the Pakistani Taliban, that aims to enforce Sharia in the country. He is the son-in-law of the group's founder, Sufi Muhammad.

After the TNSM was banned by President Pervez Musharraf on January 12, 2002, and Sufi Muhammad, the founder of the TNSM, was imprisoned, Fazlullah, his son-in-law, assumed leadership of the shattered group. Fazlullah managed to restore the organization, bootstrapping on the relief efforts by Islamist extremist groups following the October 8, 2005-earthquake. New cadres then began moving into the Swat Valley.

In the aftermath of the 2007 siege of Lal Masjid, Fazlullah's forces and Baitullah Mehsud's Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) formed an alliance. Fazlullah and his army henceforth reportedly received orders from Mehsud. A temporary cease-fire from May to September 2007 allowed Fazlullah to consolidate his political forces in Swat.