Has ex-TTP spokesperson escaped? Social media abuzz with rumours

The rumours are triggered by a purported audio clip from Ehsanullah Ehsan

Social media is abuzz with rumours that a former spokesperson of the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Ehsanullah Ehsan, has escaped from the custody of security forces.

The grist for the rumours was provided by an audio clip purportedly from Ehsanullah which has been making the rounds since it first emerged on social media platforms earlier this week.

Ehsanullah, who was also the spokesperson for TTP’s Jamaatul Ahrar faction, had surrendered to the Pakistan Army in 2017 – and has since been in custody.

He is one of the main accused in the methodical killing of nearly 150 pupils and staff in a terrorist rampage at the Army Public School in Peshawar in Dec 2014. He had also claimed responsibility for countless terrorist attacks in the country.

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In the audio clip, the man who introduces himself as Ehsanullah Ehsan claims he escaped from the custody of the security forces on January 11, 2020. The authenticity of the clip has yet to be verified, though the voice appears to be similar to that of Ehsanullah.

After turning himself in in 2017, Ehsanullah had told a Pakistani TV channel in an interview that he worked for India’s top spy agency which has been fuelling terrorism in Pakistan.

In the audio clip, the man purported to be Ehsanullah claims that he had surrendered on February 5, 2017 under “an agreement”. He further claims that he had “honoured the agreement for three years”, but the Pakistani authorities violated it and kept him and his children in prison.

He said he would release a detailed statement later in which he would mention details of the agreement. There has been no official word on the audio clip or the alleged escape of Ehsanullah.