The new leader of the Pakistani Taliban has returned to the country from eastern Afghanistan.
Unnamed Pakistani intelligence officials and a purported Taliban spokesman confirmed on December 3 that Maulana Fazlullah arrived in Pakistan's tribal region along the Afghan border a few days ago.
Fazlullah was appointed the leader of the Pakistani Taliban last month after a suspected U.S. drone strike killed his predecessor, Hakimullah Mehsud.
Fazlullah, known as "Mullah Radio" for his fiery broadcasts, led the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan in the northwestern Swat Valley.
He fled to eastern Afghanistan after a Pakistani military offensive in 2009 decimated his power base.
Fazlullah has a $500,000 government bounty on his head.
He has mounted attacks on Pakistan's military and was behind the near-fatal shooting of teenage activist Malala Yousafzai last year.
Unnamed Pakistani intelligence officials and a purported Taliban spokesman confirmed on December 3 that Maulana Fazlullah arrived in Pakistan's tribal region along the Afghan border a few days ago.
Fazlullah was appointed the leader of the Pakistani Taliban last month after a suspected U.S. drone strike killed his predecessor, Hakimullah Mehsud.
Fazlullah, known as "Mullah Radio" for his fiery broadcasts, led the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan in the northwestern Swat Valley.
He fled to eastern Afghanistan after a Pakistani military offensive in 2009 decimated his power base.
Fazlullah has a $500,000 government bounty on his head.
He has mounted attacks on Pakistan's military and was behind the near-fatal shooting of teenage activist Malala Yousafzai last year.
