Mohmand Agency... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar...
might have avenged the killing of their colleagues.
Talking to Dawn on phone from an unspecified place, Shahidullah Shahid said custodial killings could further complicate the dialogue process.
He alleged that 23 people who were in government custody had been killed over the past three days -- 16 in Nowshera district and seven in Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
"The killing of 16 people belonging to the Mohmand Agency might have enraged the Taliban in the region and they killed the 23 soldiers," he said.
The front man said the government should stop its operation and avoid obstructing peace talks. The TTP wanted sincere and serious talks with the government, he added.
The TTP Mohmand chapter headed by Umar Khalid Khorasani claimed on Sunday night to have killed 23 paramilitary personnel they had captured during an attack on a checkpost in the tribal region in 2010.
The claim could not be verified from security forces and independent sources.
An official in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), 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.
said that at least 12 personnel had been missing since the particular incident, adding that the authorities were verifying the record if the missing personnel were among those claimed to have been killed.
Hours before the TTP front man's statement, Professor Ibrahim Khan, a member of the Taliban negotiating team, said at a presser in Akora Khattak that there was a deadlock in talks.
Earlier, a meeting of the two committees scheduled at the residence of Maulana Samiul Haq
...the
Godfather of the Taliban,leader of his own faction of the JUI. Known as
Mullah Sandwichfor his habit of having two young boys at a time...
, chief of his own faction of Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam
...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spends more time running his madrassah. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability...
and a member of the TTP team, was cancelled after government negotiators said it could not be held in the present circumstances.
The Taliban negotiators urged the government to keep the grinding of the peace processor intact because the country could not afford further bloodshed.
Maulana Yousaf Shah, coordinator of the Taliban committee, accused the government of treating the TTP committee members as Taliban and declined to meet them.
Maulana Haq and Professor Ibrahim were in Akora Khattak for the meeting with the four-member government committee, headed Irfan Siddiqui.
Lal Masjid holy man Maulana Abdul Aziz
...nutball holy man who runs the Lal Masjid in the heart of Pakistain's capital. After instigating a rebellion against the state in 2007, he was caught trying to sneak away dressed in a burka. He rejects democracy as un-Islamic, which it probably is...
, another member of the Taliban committee, was not there.
Professor Ibrahim said they were not supporting any side and only trying to restore peace in the country. "Our role is to facilitate the grinding of the peace processor and Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
should meet members of the two committees and listen to their points of view," he said.
He regretted that it was the second time that the government committee had cancelled a meeting at the eleventh hour.
Answering to question, Professor Ibrahim said they would ask Taliban about the killing of 23 soldiers.
He clarified that they would not defend TTP's activities because they were not from the Taliban. But he said that the Taliban had explained through the media reasons for their action.