Abducted in 2010, extremists claim the soldiers were killed to avenge the deaths of their comrades and warn of harsher retaliation in future.
The Pakistani Taliban’s Mohmand Agency offshoot claimed responsibility on Sunday for the killing of 23 Frontier Corps soldiers who were abducted from the Shongari checkpost in June 2010.
In a one-page statement written in Urdu, Omar Khorasani, personal assistant to TTP (Mohmand) chief Omar Khalid Khorasani, said: “The FC soldiers were slain to avenge the deaths of our imprisoned comrades by the Pakistani intelligence agencies.” It adds: “We know how to avenge our comrades and if the government doesn’t refrain from its activities, then in future our reaction could be much harsher.” A short video message accompanied the statement.
In the 1 minute 56 second video, Omar Khorasani and former Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan discuss the ongoing peace talks, dismissing them as eyewash. “Talks are currently underway with the Government of Pakistan after a long period of war, but we want to make it clear that the government and intelligence agencies do not want to bring peace to Pakistan,” Khorasani tells the camera. “During this dialogue process, the government and intelligence agencies have started killing our friends who are in their custody; 23 Taliban from the Mohmand Agency have been martyred,” he says, adding, “In response, we have killed the 23 FC personnel.”
The claims of responsibility come at a particularly critical time, with the government and the Taliban negotiating a ceasefire agreement as part of peace talks. Khorasani said his group had not yet committed to the peace talks and would decide on it after a meeting of the Mohmand Taliban shura. “After the decision is made we will make it public to the people,” he said. “God willing, we will also soon release the video of the 23 FC personnel.”
The Taliban’s claim couldn’t be confirmed from independent sources. A senior official of the Mohmand Agency political administration confirmed the abduction but was unable to provide any information on the assassinations. “At the moment we aren’t in a position to confirm the incident, as we have no information other than the Taliban statement,” he said, adding: “The incident didn’t happen in the vicinity of Mohmand Agency.”
Shonkrai links Afghanistan’s Kunar province, which has a substantial Taliban presence, to Pakistan. “I think this incident, if it happened, would have happened across the border,” the official added.
A security official, speaking to Newsweek on condition of anonymity, condemned the Taliban’s actions and dismissed claims that anyone had been killed in custody. “The killing of terrorists in custody of security forces, as alleged by the TTP, is a baseless allegation,” he said. “This is mere propaganda to justify their acts of terror.”
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the “heinous” execution of the kidnapped soldiers, saying it could affect peace talks. “Such incidents have an extremely negative impact on the ongoing dialogue aimed at promoting peace,” he said in a statement. Sharif added that Pakistan could no longer tolerate such bloodshed.
Government negotiators were set to sit down for fresh talks with their Taliban counterparts on Monday but they cancelled the meeting after unanimously deciding it would be “purposeless” following the killing of the FC men.
3 comments
send this video to imu, so that he can sing and dance to the tali song whilst watching it!
the timing is just perfect–death of humanity -these guardians of the state are shaheeds – not the terrorists, murderers and rapists of the talis!send this video to imu, so that he can sing and dance to the tali song whilst watching it!try justifying these atrocities to the loved ones of these shaheeds, that the terrorists slaughtered them whilst there were performing their duties.Doomed peace talks!!!
These morons are trying to change our form of government from a democracy to a theocracy without any mandate other than blackmail, extortion and threat of death. They have ready supporters from within our own Rightists who hunger for power, a gift which democracy denies them but theocracy might bestow on them even against people’s will.
People have a right to fight for their freedom from these oppressors. A freedom denied them by the lack of spine in their rulers.
These bearded murderers actions are as punishable under law as those of any other citizen. The only way to negotiate with extortionists is to first first disarm them, make them renounce violence and accept the jurisdiction of our legal codes.