RAWALPINDI: Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) chief Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar while talking to BBC Urdu has said severe action was taken against security personnel responsible for the escape of former Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan from Army custody on January 11, 2020.
DG ISPR speaking to journalists associated with foreign media channels at his office today, said “Efforts are continuing to capture Ehsanullah Ehsan again. However, he said there was no clue of his current location.”
Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar further said that Ehsan’s escape was a very serious matter that had been investigated carefully and those found responsible in the episode had already been proceeded against.
Recently, the former TTP spokesman made the news headlines on national and international levels after he allegedly threatened Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai through social media with a second attempt on her life.
To a question about the alleged threat, Maj Gen Iftikhar said that according to his information, “the Twitter account which was used to threaten Malala was a fake account”.
The alleged threat prompted Malala to tweet herself, asking both the military and Prime Minister Imran Khan to explain how her alleged shooter, Ehsan, had escaped from government custody.
“This is the ex-spokesperson of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan who claims the attack on me and many innocent people. He is now threatening people on social media,” she tweeted. “How did he escape?”
This is the ex-spokesperson of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan who claims responsibility for the attack on me and many innocent people. He is now threatening people on social media. How did he escape @OfficialDGISPR @ImranKhanPTI? https://t.co/1RDdZaxprs
— Malala Yousafzai (@Malala) February 16, 2021
In the short audio message, the former TTP spokesman announced that on January 11, 2020, “with the help of Allah”, he had managed to run away from the “custody of the Pakistani security authorities”.
In 2017, Ehsan was apprehended however, escaped in January 2020 from a so-called safe house where he was being detained by the security forces. The circumstances of both his arrest and escape have been shrouded in mystery and controversy.
Days after the militant’s escape from custody, Interior Minister Ijaz Shah has confirmed that former Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Ehsan had escaped from the custody of Pakistan security agencies.
In an informal conversation with journalists in Parliament House, Ijaz admitted that the news of Ehsanullah Ehsan’s escape was true. Some notable attacks for which Ehsanullah Ehsan claimed responsibly as a TTP and Jammat-ul-Ahrar spokesperson are:
On October 9, 2012, he claimed responsibility for the attack on Malala Yousafzai – a girl famous for highlighting Taliban atrocities. On November 22, 2012, Ehsan took the responsibility for suicide bombing against the Shia community in Rawalpindi and Karachi.
On December 15, 2012, Ehsan confessed to his involvement in a rocket attack on Bacha Khan International Airport. Ehsan was also one of the facilitators in the deadliest attack in Pakistan on Army Public School Peshawar in which almost 150 students were martyred.
