Defence officials said Monday that the United States has assured Pakistan that Tehreek-i-Taliban (TTP) chief Mullah Fazlullah would either be arrested or killed in Afghanistan, adding that in case of an arrest he would be subsequently handed over to Pakistan.
Briefing a Senate Defence Committee in Islamabad, defence officials said that during his long visit to the US, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Raheel Sharif had also presented vital evidence of Indian involvement in subversive activities in Pakistan by using Afghan soil to top US intelligence and defence officials.
Defence officials said US would also give Pakistan 1 billion USD this year under the Coalition Support Fund (CSF). The committee was briefed that the US would further give Pakistan used defence equipment to meet its security challenges for which the process had already begun.
Committee chairman Mushahid Hussain and members expressed displeasure over the absence of Defence Minister Khawaja Asif from the meeting. A day after the Peshawar school attack, Gen Raheel had also visited Kabul where he sought handover of Mullah Fazalullah.
On Jan 14, the US State Department had designated the TTP chief as a ‘global terrorist’. Fazlullah was elected TTP commander in November 2013, following the death of former leader Hakimullah Mehsud.
Under the leadership of Fazlullah, TTP claimed responsibility for the December 16, 2014 attack on a school in Peshawar that resulted in the deaths of at least 150 people, mostly students.
Prior to becoming TTP leader, Fazlullah claimed he was behind the killing of Pakistani Army Major General Sanaullah Niazi in September 2013, as well as ordering the shooting of schoolgirl and activist Malala Yousafzai in 2012.
