Taliban Ex-Spokesperson Ehsan Will Be Shown No Leniency: Pak Army

Ehsan took responsibility for carrying out several attacks in Pakistan, including the attack on Malala Yousafzai.

Fighters from the Taliban. Image used for representation purpose (Photo: Reuters)

Pakistan on Wednesday said that former Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan who surrendered to the Pakistan's security agencies last month would be dealt in accordance with the law and no leniency would be shown to him.

The statement came after action was sought from several concerned quarters against Ehsan who took responsibility for carrying out several deadly attacks in Pakistan, including the attack on activist Malala Yousafzai and an army school in Peshawar that killed 150 people, including 133 children.

He surrendered to the Army under unknown circumstances and his confessional video went viral last month.

The Pakistani Army came under severe criticism for presenting him to the media.

Rejecting the notion that the military wanted to present Ehsan as a hero, the head of military's media wing said the former Taliban spokesperson's fate will be decided as per law.

Army spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor said the Army's decision to make his confession public to show what the Taliban did to the people of Pakistan.

The purpose (of the video) was to show how the Taliban were being used against us. It was not meant to present him (Ehsan) as a hero. He will be dealt according to law of the land.

Major General Asif Gahfoor, Pakistan Army Spokesperson

Earlier, the parents of children killed in Peshawar school massacre demanded that Ehsan should be handed over to them for prosecution.

The statement of the Army coincided with the Senate’s Standing Committee asking police chief of government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province for the inclusion of Ehsan as an accused in the Malala’s attack case.

Malala was shot in 2012 in Pakistan by the Taliban for attending classes.

In a letter addressed to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Home Ministry and Inspector General Police, committee chairman Senator Rehman Malik said that Ehsan was spokesman of the Taliban and took responsibility of attack and should be included in the investigation.