Former Spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban Surrenders
After he was fired, Mr. Mohmand joined a hard-line splinter Taliban group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (also spelled
Jamaat-e-Ahrar), which has claimed most of the terrorist attacks in Pakistan in recent years.
Mr. Mohmand said that His surrender is very significant as it gives an impression that Ahrar is suffering from internal differences and division,
Mr. Mohmand was one of the most recognizable faces of the Pakistani Taliban, officially known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, until 2013.
There has been some news media speculation in Pakistan
that Mr. Mohmand had been seeking the military’s protection from reprisal attacks by his former peers.
By SALMAN MASOOD and IHSANULLAH TIPU MEHSUDAPRIL 17, 2017
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The Pakistani military said Monday
that a high-profile militant leader had surrendered, calling it a significant victory in efforts against the remnants of the Pakistani Taliban.
Mr. Mohmand’s voice and announcements laid claim to a long litany of terrorist violence, including the attack on Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl who would become a Nobel laureate for her education advocacy work; the shooting of Hamid Mir, a prominent Pakistani journalist
and talk-show host; and the killing of 11 mountain climbers in northern Pakistan in 2013.
Two members of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the news media, insisted
that it was a case of voluntary surrender after the group had suffered huge losses to Pakistani military offensives.
