Pakistan contemplating attack on Taliban, Insurgents threaten to assassinate peace activist’s father
12 Oct 2012
The
most feared Taliban commander has threatened to assassinate the 14 year
old activist Malala Yousufzai’s father after two of his men failed to
kill his daughter, Reuters reported.
Sirajuddin Ahmad, a spokesman for “Radio Mullah” Maulana Fazlullah’s Swat Taliban which previously had control over the Swat region, told Reuters that two killers from Fazlullah’s special hit squad had been sent to target the young schoolgirl.
The spokesman said that two men between the ages of 20- to 30 were sent not to assassinate the teenager but only to force to stop from propagating anti-Taliban message among the youth.
“We had no intentions to kill her but were forced when she would not stop (speaking against us),” said spokesman Sirajuddin Ahmad, now based in Afghanistan’s Kunar province.
Ahmad has told it was a unanimous decision to kill her two months ago at a meeting.
Fazullah’s group was responsible for executing 17 Pakistani soldiers in one of several cross border raids.
“Before the attack, the two fighters personally collected information about Malala’s route to school, timing, the vehicle she used and her security,” Reuters quoted Ahmed as saying.
They decided to shoot her near a military checkpoint to make the point they could strike anywhere, he said.
On Tuesday, the two men stopped the bus she was riding home in. They asked for Yousufzai by name. Although the frightened girls said she wasn’t there, the men fired at her and also hit two other girls in the van. One of them remains in critical condition.
Now that they had failed to kill Yousufzai, they would target her father, Ahmad told Reuters.
Ziauddin Yousufzai, the headmaster of a girls’ school, is on their hit list for speaking against them, his activities to promote peace in the region and for encouraging his daughter.
“We have a clear-cut stance. Anyone who takes side with the government against us will have to die at our hands,” Ahmad warned. “You will see. Other important people will soon become victims.”
Earlier, TTP central spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan had already claimed responsibility for the assassination attempt on the young schoolgirl. However, it is unclear why the Swat Taliban spokesman Sirajuddin Ahmad has come out with this statement after an earlier statement by the TTP central spokesman.
Meanwhile Pakistan government said that it was seriously launching a major offensive against the Taliban insurgents in the Tribal badlands north of Waziristian.
Pakistan’s interior minister Rehman Malik told reporters at Karachi airport that the insurgents have not only attacked the school girl, but the entire country.
Sirajuddin Ahmad, a spokesman for “Radio Mullah” Maulana Fazlullah’s Swat Taliban which previously had control over the Swat region, told Reuters that two killers from Fazlullah’s special hit squad had been sent to target the young schoolgirl.
The spokesman said that two men between the ages of 20- to 30 were sent not to assassinate the teenager but only to force to stop from propagating anti-Taliban message among the youth.
“We had no intentions to kill her but were forced when she would not stop (speaking against us),” said spokesman Sirajuddin Ahmad, now based in Afghanistan’s Kunar province.
Ahmad has told it was a unanimous decision to kill her two months ago at a meeting.
Fazullah’s group was responsible for executing 17 Pakistani soldiers in one of several cross border raids.
“Before the attack, the two fighters personally collected information about Malala’s route to school, timing, the vehicle she used and her security,” Reuters quoted Ahmed as saying.
They decided to shoot her near a military checkpoint to make the point they could strike anywhere, he said.
On Tuesday, the two men stopped the bus she was riding home in. They asked for Yousufzai by name. Although the frightened girls said she wasn’t there, the men fired at her and also hit two other girls in the van. One of them remains in critical condition.
Now that they had failed to kill Yousufzai, they would target her father, Ahmad told Reuters.
Ziauddin Yousufzai, the headmaster of a girls’ school, is on their hit list for speaking against them, his activities to promote peace in the region and for encouraging his daughter.
“We have a clear-cut stance. Anyone who takes side with the government against us will have to die at our hands,” Ahmad warned. “You will see. Other important people will soon become victims.”
Earlier, TTP central spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan had already claimed responsibility for the assassination attempt on the young schoolgirl. However, it is unclear why the Swat Taliban spokesman Sirajuddin Ahmad has come out with this statement after an earlier statement by the TTP central spokesman.
Meanwhile Pakistan government said that it was seriously launching a major offensive against the Taliban insurgents in the Tribal badlands north of Waziristian.
Pakistan’s interior minister Rehman Malik told reporters at Karachi airport that the insurgents have not only attacked the school girl, but the entire country.
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