FIA arrests senior TTP commander in Peshawar

Separately, bomb defused at Tatara Park in Hayatabad

PESHAWAR: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) claimed to have arrested a senior Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) commander from Peshawar’s Bacha Khan International Airport on Monday.

A disguised Bahadur Jan was reported travelling to Dubai in a private airline. He was apprehended by the authorities following inspection of travel documents.

Hailing from District Bannu, Jan was placed on the exit control list (ECL) by the interior ministry over the recommendation of Counter-terrorism Department (CTD). He is wanted in incidents related to terrorism.

Shortly after the arrest, the TTP commander was handed over to CTD, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).

On June 13, TTP chief Mullah Fazlullah was killed in a US drone strike. Senior American and Afghan officials confirmed on Friday, hours after the deadly strike was reported by the media.

Fazlullah was reportedly travelling in a vehicle along with four other commanders when he was targeted by a remotely-piloted US aircraft at 11pm on June 13 in Afghanistan’s Kunar province.

The slain TTP supremo, killed alongside four associates in a strike executed by a remotely-piloted American aerial vehicle in Afghanistan’s Kunar province, was forever willing to leave no stone unturned in his quest for enshrining an uncompromising interpretation of Islamic law. Fazlullah, infamous as “Mullah Radio”, presided over a two-year Taliban rule in Swat that saw offenders being decapitated and schools being razed.

In a separate incident, Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) forest guards spotted a suspicious bag near a swing at the Tatara Park. The guards informed Safe Hayatabad Control Room who then alerted Hayatabad Police.

Initial inspection by the bomb disposal squad and police revealed that the bag contained explosive material. The bomb was defused by the authorities.