End of the road for Lt Gen Faiz Hameed? Pakistan may sack ISI chief over Taliban terrorist’s escape

Published February 11, 2020

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By admin

SOURCE: TIMES NOW

Pakistan may soon sack Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, Director-General of Pakistan’s spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) over the news of the escape of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan from Pakistan Army custody. According to news agency IANS, the Pakistan Army came under immense pressure put on by the public as soon as the news of Ehsan’s escape was broken on February 7.

Ehsan’s escape after days of detention

Ehsan, the militant who has been held responsible for terror attacks on Malala Yousufzai and the Peshawar army school, in an audio recording that was released on Thursday and was shared via an online messaging platform, had claimed that he had, along with his family, managed to escape from the custody of Pakistan Army and intelligence agencies on January 11.

He had further mentioned in the recording that he was forced to give statements under an agreement between him and Pakistani authorities but he was betrayed. He was referring to the Geo TV news interview in which he had claimed that he was working for India’s external intelligence agency RAW. IANS reports suggest that a day after the audio was released, Prime Minister Imran Khan held a one-on-one meeting with Lt Gen Hameed to discuss the case that has now triggered outrage in the country.

Media reports suggested that Ehsanullah had managed to escape from a safe house, a bungalow on Warsak road in Peshawar, nearby the same army school that was attacked by the Taliban in 2014, killing about 150 children. Sources told IANS that there was no security when he fled the house. Reports suggested that a source in Islamabad said, “It has been quite embarrassing for the Pakistan Army given the grave charges against Ehsan. They are not able to explain how he was let go. People are asking for heads to roll.”

Peshawar Army school attack of 2014

On December 16, 2014, seven heavily armed terrorists stormed into an Army-run primary and secondary school. Around 150 people were killed in the incident – out of which about 134 were children. Media reports suggest that the attack began during mid-morning after the terrorists entered the school premises by scaling a wall. They immediately started shooting in the main assembly area where a large number of people were taking a lesson in first aid. They further entered classrooms and shot down teachers and older students. Reports cited sources saying that the attackers had entered the premises with the sole purpose of killing. They did not want to hold anyone hostage, the sources had told media portals.

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