Former Pakistani Taliban spokesman to face trial in military court

A senior Pakistani official has told the country’s lawmakers that Ehsanullah Ehsan, the former spokesman of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA), both U.S.-designated terror groups, will be tried in a military court.

Responding to a Senate inquiry regarding the fate and status of Ehsan’s case, Talal Chaudhry, the minister of state for interior affairs, made the announcement Friday to the upper house of parliament.

Military courts were established in 2015 to provide faster and more efficient trials of suspected terrorists and their facilitators following a deadly Taliban attack on an Army Public School in Peshawar, capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The attack resulted in the deaths of more than 130 people, the majority of whom were children.

Ehsan was TTP’s spokesman at the time of the attack.

“Relevant institutions have decided not to pardon or release Ehsanullah Ehsan,” Chaudhry reportedly told the Senate. He assured lawmakers that Ehsan would be tried in accordance with Pakistan’s laws.

Chaudhry’s assurance to lawmakers came amid speculation that Ehsan might be pardoned or released. On Friday, though, Chaudry tried to put lawmakers at ease by emphasizing that the government has zero tolerance for terrorists.

This was not the first time that questions had been raised about Ehsan’s fate in government’s custody. Last year in December, a court in Peshawar issued an order, barring Ehsan’s possible release. The court instructed the government to keep the suspect in captivity and continue with his interrogation.

Source: VOA News