TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud demands release of 50 prisoners

KARACHI: Tehreek-i-Taliban chief, Hakimullah Mehsood has made formal contact with former Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz lawmaker Javed Ibraheem Paracha in response to government’s talks offer, sources said Thursday.

Paracha, a former MNA from Kohat who is serving as a coordinator for the talks, confirmed that Mehsud had telephoned him and given a list of 50 prisoners, demanding their release.

Paracha said that the prisoners were associated with the TTP and sectarian outfits Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ).

The sources said that Paracha had visited Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail to meet the Taliban prisoners.

They claimed that Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan along with an officer of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had also met Javed Ibraheem Paracha.

The report regarding the contact comes amid uncertainty and concerns about the prospects of peace talks with militants, which emerged after the high profile assassination of Pakistan Army’s Major General Sanaullah Khan Niazi in Upper Dir on Sunday. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the killing of two star general.