Pak Taliban faction’s new chief fought in J&K

Bahawal Khan, named the new chief of a Taliban faction in Pakistan's South Waziristan region after the killing of Mullah Nazir in a US drone strike on Thursday, fought Indian tro-ops in Jammu and Kashmir.

A member of the Kakakhel sub-tribe of the Ahmedzai Wazirs, Khan fought as a militant in J&K, sources were quoted as saying in Pakistani media reports.

The 34-year-old father of two, who was a bus driver and also ran a hotel, fought alongside the Afghan Taliban before the 9/11 terror attacks.

A report described Khan, who is also known as Salahuddin Ayubi, as "tough and inflexible", while another said he is "seen as hot-tempered, unlike his predecessor". Nazir

finalised a peace deal with Pakistani security forces in 2007 and was considered to be among the "good" Taliban.

US intelligence officials told The Long War Journal, a website that tracks the war on terror, that Khan is closely allied with al Qaeda, the Afghan Taliban and other terrorist groups in the area.

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