A debate was started in all over Pakistan after the news broke out that the former spokesperson of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Ehsanullah Ehsan has escaped the custody of Pakistan’s security agencies.
Ehsanullah Ehsan announced his escape through an audio message circulated on social media that he is no longer in Pakistan’s custody and had managed to escape.
The Law Enforcement Agencies of Pakistan has refused to give comments in this regard.
Who is Ehsanullah Ehsan? What crimes did he commit? What was the audio message? Let’s try to answer these questions.
Who is Ehsanullah Ehsan?
The real name of Ehsanullah Ehsan is Liaquat Ali. He is the former spokesperson of banned terrorist organization – Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) – and later joined another terrorist organization named Jamat-ul-Ahrar. As a spokesperson, he arranged media campaigns, uses social media networks and calls up local journalists to claim responsibilities for the terrorist attacks on behalf of the organization.
Ehsanullah’s surrender
The Tehreek-e-Taliban spokesman – involved in several terror operations, including Army Public School – surrendered to Pakistan security forces on April 17, 2017.
Then Director-General of Inter-Services of Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor said, “I want to take this opportunity to announce that Ehsanullah Ehsan has turned himself into our security agencies.”
In 2014, after a split in the TTP, Ehsan had become a spokesperson for the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar. Ehsan also claimed that at the time that 70 to 80 percent of the TTP workers had also joined the splinter group.
Responsibility for attacks
Some notable attacks for which Ehsanullah Ehsan claimed responsibly as a TTP and Jammat-ul-Ahrar spokesperson are:
On October 9, 2012, he claimed the responsibility of the attack on Malala Yousafzai – a girl famous for highlighting Taliban atrocities.
On November 22, 2012, Ehsan claimed the responsibility for suicide bombing against the Shia community in Rawalpindi and Karachi.
On December 15, 2012, Ehsan claimed responsibility for a rocket attack on Bacha Khan International Airport.
On June 23, 2013, he claimed the responsibility for killing nine foreign tourists in Gilgit-Baltistan.
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.
The Audio Message
Ehsanullah announced his escape from Pakistan’s security agencies through an audio message that circulated on social media. However, the military sources refuted to comment in this regard.
In the audio message, he said, “I surrendered myself to Pakistani intelligence agencies after an agreement signed on 5th February 2017.”
He said that he followed the deal for three years but was detained by the security agencies, including his wife and children.
He said that the security agencies didn’t fulfill its promises and violated the agreement after which he decided to work on an escape plan.
He said that he managed to escape from the state custody on 11th January 202o.
Pakistan’s stance
The security agencies of Pakistan hasn’t committed to the mysterious escape of Ehsanullah Ehsan yet.
However, after days of official silence and intense speculation, Interior Minister Ijaz Shah confirmed the news of the escape from the custody of Pakistan’s agencies.
Ijaz Shah also said that the state is aware of Ehsanullah’s escape, adding that the work is in progress in this regard and the people will hear good news soon.
What’s next?
Parents and the family members of the children martyred in Peshawar APS incident filed a petition in Peshawar High Court seeking contempt of court proceedings against multiple government officials following reports of Ehsanullah’s escape.
Now the question is where is Ehsanullah now? We do not know the answer right now, but rumors are circulating that he is in Turkey right now.
Now there should be an explanation over the circumstances in which the militant managed to getaway. The nation deserved to be taken into confidence over the matter.
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