Top Taliban militant surrenders
Ehsanullah Ehsan is the main spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban
Pakistani authorities are questioning a senior militant who they say voluntarily surrendered, presenting the development as a major setback for an Islamist group that has carried out several attacks in recent years.
The militant, Sajjid Mohmand, is more widely known by his nom de guerre, Ehsanullah Ehsan, and was the main spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban. He had gained prominence through his ambitious media campaigns, savvy use of social media networks and frequent phone calls and text messages to local journalists and news media outlets to claim responsibility for terrorist attacks.
In custody
“He is in our custody,” Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, spokesman for the Pakistani military, said at a news conference in Rawalpindi. The general, however, offered no details about the circumstances in which Mohmand surrendered to the Pakistani security forces.
Mohmand was one of the most recognisable faces of the Pakistani Taliban, officially known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, until 2013. That year, he lost the trust of the top Taliban leadership after he issued a statement critical of the Afghan Taliban, and he was accused of “creating mistrust” between the two groups.
After he was fired, Mohmand joined a hard-line splinter Taliban group Jamaat-ulAhrar, which has claimed most of the terrorist attacks in Pakistan in recent years. He was said to have been working with the group until March.