There has been a probe ordered by a Pakistani parliamentary committee into a so-called “kill list” that mentions a number of public figures in the country, days after a former Taliban operative confirmed its existence. Shazia Marri, the leader of the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), has directed the Interior Secretary to have a meeting with Farhatullah Babar and Afrasiab Khattak for their input into the probe, the Dawn newspaper reported on Friday. There was a ‘kill list’ that included both senators.
According to the panel, former Taliban spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan’s post from a month ago clearly references the ‘kill-list’. Ehsan wrote in his post that he was asked to lead a ‘death squad’ to eliminate ‘some individuals’.
Among the former senators listed on Ehsan’s kill list were Farhatullah Babar, Afrasiab Khattak, Syed Alam Mehsud and Mufti Kifayatullah. According to Farhatullah Babar, Ehsanullah Ehsan is extraordinary. A former spokesperson for Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), he later formed Jamaatul Ahrar, a splinter group that is designated as a terror organization. Ehsanullah Ehsan has claimed responsibility for a number of deadly attacks in Pakistan. The parliamentary committee was informed that in April 2017, this ‘terrorist’ became a close friend of security services.
Ehsan recently made some startling disclosures in an interview with the media. In an interview with Al Jazeera, Ehsan reveals how he left the high-security detention center. He claimed that his release was the result of an agreement that granted him full immunity, a personal stipend and a guarantee that he would be allowed to live peacefully. Despite his inputs, Ehsan noted that the military and civilian authorities haven’t taken action on them yet. In reference to the mysterious death of former senator Usman Kakar on June 21, Ehsan said the senator was on a ‘hit list’. In another tweet, Ehsan provided the names of other individuals on the list.
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The family of Usman Kakar had already accused him of murder. ‘The government (of Balochistan) formed a judicial commission to probe the matter, but disbanded it after the family declined to appear before it due to concerns about trust,’ Farhatullah Babar said. ‘Taking this into account, we are deeply concerned about the hit list since our names are also on it,’ he said. In a joint letter to the Pakistan government on May 29, 2019, five United Nations bodies mentioned the ‘kill list’.
Senator Babar said, ‘This makes it far too serious to be taken lightly’. Some Pakistani dissidents living abroad made death threats to the Guardian newspaper a few days ago. Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) denied the existence of any such list. It was noted by the FO that denial alone will not dispel suspicions. According to former senator Afrasiab Khattak, anyone might be on the hit list. According to Dawn, Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari said the case needs to be thoroughly investigated.
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