New Delhi: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had written at least two letters to the chief of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Hakimullah Mehsud, in 2011 and 2012, seeking permission to do political rallies in South Waziristan, Pakistan. It is clear from this that the present Prime Minister of Pakistan maintained cordial contacts with the TTP, as has long been alleged by some of his rivals.
Imran Khan had sought TTP permission to ensure that he and his party members were not attacked in the region where Taliban held sway. At the time, Khan, as part of his political campaigning, had been carrying out peace marches across Pakistan to protest against drone strikes that were being carried out by the United States, targeting members of various terror groups.
While speaking to The Sunday Guardian, former TTP spokesperson and a key member of the then top council of the Taliban, Ehsanullah Ehsan confirmed that Khan had written at least two letters to Mehsud during 2011 and 2012. Ehsanullah Ehsan was considered close to Mehsud until the time the latter was killed in a drone strike in November 2013.
“I was the spokesperson of the group (TTP) at the time. It was my responsibility to draft replies to such letters. The letter was brought to us by Imran Khan’s party leaders. The letters were signed by Imran Khan himself. On both occasions, I drafted a reply to the letters after taking inputs from the TTP leadership and it was then sent to Khan. I cannot reveal the contents of the reply right now but I might in the near future to show how the politicians of the country really are. They say something in private and do something else in public”, Ehsanullah Ehsan told The Sunday Guardian while speaking from an undisclosed location.
If the contents of the letters become public, it is likely to shed light on the kind of relationship that the political class in Pakistan shares with banned terror groups. It is also likely to bring to light the role the members of the Pakistan army play in all this.
The Sunday Guardian reached out to the office of Imran Khan for a response but did not receive any.
It is pertinent to mention here that at a time when Imran Khan was seeking permission from Hakimullah Mehsud, in 2011 and 2012, the latter was carrying a reward of Rs 50 million (Pakistani rupees) on his head. He was also carrying a reward of $5 million on his head, put out by the FBI.
While Ehsan refused to share the details of the letters that were exchanged between Imran Khan and Mehsud or if Mehsud allowed Imran Khan to enter South Waziristan, and if yes, on what conditions, it is clear from the events that took place later that Imran had got a favourable response from Mehsud.
On 7 October 2012, Imran Khan’s rally was stopped from entering South Waziristan by the Pakistan army at Manzai check post, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which indicates that Khan had received a “yes” from Mehsud to do his rally in South Waziristan. South Waziristan is one of the seven regions in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). The Sunday Guardian was the first to write on 18 January this year—Pak Taliban leader Ehsanullah Ehsan ‘flees’ from safe house—that Ehsan, who was staying under the protection of the Pakistan army, had fled from the safe house along with his wife and children. Later, to force him to surrender, the Pakistan army arrested his father and other relatives including his brothers, uncles and cousin. They have been in “illegal” custody since then and so far have not been produced in court. Ehsan, whose real name in Liaqat Ali, has written to Amnesty International, Red Cross and Human Rights Watch requesting them to intervene in this matter to seek their release as they were never a part of any terrorist group.