Pakistani Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid, center, flanked by his bodyguards, talks to reporters on Oct. 5 at an undisclosed location in the Pakistani tribal area of Waziristan along the border with Afghanistan. Ishtiaq Mahsud/AP

The Pakistani Taliban has chosen the commander whose men shot schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai last year as its new leader, after the death of his predecessor, Hakimullah Mehsud, in a U.S. drone strike last Friday.

The election of Maulana Fazlullah dampens expectations of any compromise between the Taliban and the Pakistani government, as Fazlullah has been a staunch opponent of peace talks in the past.

The announcement was made by caretaker leader Asmatullah Shaheen at a press conference at an undisclosed location in northwestern Pakistan.

"I congratulate all the Muslim brothers that Maulana Fazlullah has been elected as the new chief of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan" (TTP), Shaheen said, according to Agence France-Presse.

Pakistani Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid, who confirmed Fazlullah’s election to Al Jazeera, said the decision was taken after a Shura Council meeting by senior Taliban figures. He noted that the new leader was not willing to engage in peace talks.

"There will be no more talks as Mullah Fazlullah is already against negotiations with the Pakistan government," Shahid said.