Taliban are Indian agents, admits former spokesman

Ehsanullah Ehsan says in confessional video hostile countries funding terror in Pakistan; Taliban even prepared to accept money from Israel; they have no link with Islam; NDS issues ID cards to TTP terrorists; Fazlullah was elected through lucky draw; ISPR says hostile foreign agenda stands exposed

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Army released a video confessional statement on Wednesday of former Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) and Jamaatul Ahrar (JA) spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan in which he said that the Pakistani Taliban are agents of India. Ehsanullah Ehsan can be seen in the video admitting to the terrorist organisations' nexus with Indian and Afghan intelligence agencies and security forces in carrying out subversive activities in Pakistan.

Earlier this month, DG ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor had announced that Ehsan had surrendered to the Pakistan Army. Ehsan was previously the spokesperson of the TTP but later joined the JuA splinter faction.

"My name is Liaquat Ali alias Ehsanullah Ehsan and I am from Mohmand agency. I joined the TTP in 2008. I was a college student back then. I was also the spokesman for the TTP Mohmand Agency chapter. After that, I became the central spokesman for the TTP, and later the spokesman for JA," Ehsan can be heard saying in the video statement.

"I have seen a lot in the nine years with the TTP. They recruited people by misleading them in the name of Islam, especially the youth, for their own gains," he said.

"They (TTP) themselves could not come up to the standards they advocated," he said,adding, "A particular group is extorting money from innocent Muslims, killing and kidnapping them. These people carry out bombings in public places, attack schools, colleges and universities. Islam does not teach us this."

The former TTP and JA spokesman also revealed details of a battle of succession that ensued between different terrorist leaders after the killing of former TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud in late 2013.

"When the operation started in tribal areas, the quest for power intensified among these people and everyone wanted to be the leader of the organisation," he said. Ehsan said that after the killing of Hakimullah, the process of succession started in the organisation and a sort of electoral campaign started. "During this time Omar Khalid Khorasani, Khan Saeed Sajna and Mulla Fazlullah were all a part of this. Everyone wanted to gain power so the Shura decided that names would be shortlisted through a lucky draw, through which Mulla Fazullah was elected the leader," he said.

"What can you expect from an organisation whose leader is elected through a lucky draw? And then the leader was a person of questionable character, who married his mentor's daughter by force and took her away. These types of personalities, these types of people, are neither capable of nor are they serving Islam," he said.

"After the operation in North Waziristan, we all fled to Afghanistan. I saw there (in Afghanistan) these people developed contacts with India and RAW. They (India and RAW) supported, provided finances and targets. They (TTP) took money for every activity they did," admitted the former militant spokesman, a confirmation of Pakistan's long held position that Indian spy agency RAW and Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security have been fomenting terrorism in Pakistan.

"They pushed TTP soldiers on the frontlines to fight against the Pakistan Army and they themselves went into hiding," he said.

"When they started taking help from India and RAW, I told Omer Khalid Khorasani that what we are doing is helping the kuffar (non-believers) by conducting activity in our country with their (India and RAW) money. It was a type of assistance to them (India and RAW). He (Khorasani) told me that even if offered by Israel he would take funds to destabilise Pakistan. At this point, I figured out that through a specific agenda and for their own self-interests, they (TTP) were doing all of this," he said.

"These organisations have formed committees in Afghanistan through which they maintain contact with NDS and RAW. NDS had issued them ID cards through which they could move around with ease. These ID cards in Afghanistan had the same function as the ID cards in Pakistan. Without this document and keeping in mind the security situation in Afghanistan, it would be difficult for them to move in that country," he said, adding, "They would be in contact with NDS and Afghan forces when they moved and would be provided passage by them (NDS and Afghan forces) who would guide their infiltration into Pakistan."

Ehsan said in recent operations by the Pakistan Army, especially in the Afghan areas of Parchua and Lalpura, JA camps were destroyed and commanders killed. “This forced them to leave this area which was their base. After this, from the commanders to lower ranks in the Jamaat morale is low. Those who remain there and want to leave, I want to give them the message to stop and adopt the path of peace and return to a life of tranquility," Ehsan said.

He said after the operations, when media coverage of militants decreased, they started using social media to mislead young innocent people. “They used wrong interpretations of Islam to share messages on social media and shared propaganda through which they caught these youngsters in their trap. I want to especially tell youngsters who use social media to not get caught in the wrong propaganda of these people. They are playing in the hands of outsiders for their personal interests,” he said.

“The reasons I discussed here led to my decision to voluntarily surrender to the Pakistan Army," concluded the former TTP and JA spokesman. Meanwhile, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor said Ehsan had exposed the hostile foreign agenda and their designs to destabilise Pakistan.

In a tweet, he said, "Our youth is our strength, shall never fall prey." Meanwhile, Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said the issue of NDS involvement in terror activities in Pakistan will be raised with Afghanistan. “We are reviewing the confessional video of Ehsanullah Ehsan, which is of extremely sensitive nature,” Sartaj Aziz.