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Army spokesman claims action has been taken against people responsible for the escape of terrorist Ehsanullah Ehsan from Pakistan
The issue of missing persons—which continues to draw protests and long marches to the federal capital every few months—is nearing resolution, Pakistan Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Babar Iftikhar said on Wednesday, stressing that the Commission on Enforced Disappearances had made great strides already.
In an interaction with foreign media in Islamabad, the director-general of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that of the “more than 6,000 cases [of missing persons] received by the commission, 4,000 had already been resolved.” He said that the remaining cases were under progress and “would also be resolved soon.”
During the wide-ranging meeting—reported by BBC Urdu—the Army spokesman reiterated his claims that India was funding and fomenting terrorism in Pakistan through Afghanistan. “It is not a stretch to say that the Afghan intelligence is aware of such developments,” he said, adding that Pakistan wanted peace in Afghanistan at all costs and had taken all possible measures to achieve this. However, he emphasized, it is for the citizens and government of Afghanistan to determine the future of their own country. “It’s impossible for the Taliban to recapture Kabul and for Pakistan to support them. It isn’t going to happen,” said Maj.-Gen. Iftikhar.
To a question, the Army spokesman said that Pakistan was not aware of the current whereabouts of former Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan, who escaped the custody of security forces in February 2020. Noting that efforts were underway for the re-arrest of the Taliban leader, Iftikhar said that action had been taken against the people responsible for Ehsan’s escape. He also clarified that, according to his information, the Twitter account that had threatened Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai was a “fake” account and was not actually linked to Ehsan. Several media outlets had earlier reported that Ehsan had confirmed to them that the account was his, but had since been blocked by the social media site.
To another question, he said that some of the people allegedly involved in the killing of 11 Hazara coalminers in the Macch area of Balochistan had been arrested. He reiterated claims that organized extremism had been eliminated from the erstwhile tribal areas, adding that they no longer had the capacity to stage major attacks there. He said that the recent attack in North Waziristan that had resulted in the deaths of four women linked to a non-governmental organization had been retaliation to an ongoing Pakistan Army operation in the area.
“These petty extremists will be eliminated from Waziristan soon,” he vowed.