The director general of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor, on Monday announced that Ehsanullah Ehsan, former spokesperson of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and a senior leader of the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, had turned himself in to Pakistan's security agencies.
"The people, the state and the institutions of Pakistan have made considerable progress in the betterment of the country's security situation. We have progressed to the point that the people who've been planning attacks on Pakistan's soil from across the border have started to see the error of their ways," Maj Gen Ghafoor said.
"There can be no bigger achievement for Pakistan than the fact that our biggest enemies are now turning themselves in," he said.
"I want to take this opportunity to announce that Ehsanullah Ehsan, the former spokesperson of the TTP and a leader of the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, has turned himself into our security agencies," he added.
During the media briefing, Maj Gen Ghafoor also showed the recorded confessional statement of Naureen Leghari, a medical student from Hyderabad who allegedly fled home to join the militant Islamic State (IS) in Syria.
Leghari was arrested on Friday after her husband, whom she had married after leaving her home and joining the militants, was killed in an encounter in Punjab Housing Society.
“The girl went missing from Hyderabad. Later, a message appeared on Facebook in which she said that she had joined the military group," the director general said before he showed the video.
In the video, Leghari denied that she had been kidnapped, saying she made the decision to travel to Lahore on her own.
"I am a second-year student at the Liaquat Medical University," Leghari said in the video.
"I went to Lahore on my own, no one kidnapped me," she said.
"Our main plan was to carry out terrorist activities," she said. "These included suicide attacks and kidnapping intelligence officials," she claimed.
"A young man named Fauji was involved in these activities."
"On April 1, our organisation gave us four suicide jackets, some hand grenades and bullets. These were to be used in a suicide attack on a church in Lahore. I was supposed to be the suicide bomber," she said.
Sources earlier told media that Leghari had allegedly visited Syria to join IS after leaving her home in February. She had also received training in Syria for using weapons.
She returned to Lahore three weeks ago and was being tracked by security personnel. Law enforcement agencies are investigating her as well.
After playing Leghari's confession, Maj Gen Ghafoor said Pakistan's youth bulge — a term for the large percentage of Pakistan's population that comprises young men and women — was becoming a target for terrorist outfits.
"The youth bulge is our strength," Ghafoor said. "When the terrorists target or youth, you can imagine the impact it will have on Pakistan."
"Please keep an eye on your children to make sure you know what they are involved in," he said.
He also said Naureen Leghari would be rehabilitated.
