...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.High Court (PHC) on Wednesday, wrapping up a petition submitted by the father of an Army Public School (APS) attack victim, ordered that former Jamaatul Ahrar
...A Pak Taliban
splintergroup that split off from the Mullah Fazlullah faction because it wasn't violent enough...
(JuA) and Tehrik-e-Taliban
...Arabic for
students...
Pakistain (TTP) front man Ehsanullah Ehsan
...formerly the front man for the Pak Taliban, then the lips and tongue of the Jamaatul Ahrar splinter group in Mohmand Agency...remain imprisoned while he is undergoing trial.
In the petition, the victim's father had asked the court to ensure that Ehsan is not pardoned as he had grabbed credit for the 2014 attack on Peshawar's APS in which at least 144 people, mostly children, were killed.
Ehsan, a TTP spokesperson until 2014, joined the splinter group JuA following a split in the TTP. The army in April 2017 announced his surrender to security forces and released a 'confession video' of Ehsan in which he claimed that terrorist organizations were being "used" by India and Afghanistan.
Fazal Khan, the father of another APS victim, had petitioned the PHC in 2017 against Ehsan's release as he believed the government intended to give clemency to the ex-militant who is reportedly in the custody of security agencies. Subsequently, the PHC in December last year barred the government from releasing Ehsan.
A two-judge bench comprising justices Qaisar Rashid and Ikramullah Khan today stated that if Ehsan had taken responsibility for the TTP-claimed APS attack, "the parents of the victims ─ and not the state ─ hold the right to pardon him".
During the hearing, Deputy Attorney General Musaratullah Khan assured the court that the government does not plan to release Ehsan anyway as he is already undergoing an inquiry.