Islamabad, February 20: Pakistani Taliban Saturday released video of the shooting of a former officer of the country’ s intelligence agency, who had been kidnapped in March last year in the North Waziristan tribal region.
A Taliban fighter was shown in the video while firing at the slain former officer of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Col. ( retired) Sultan Ameer Tarar, commonly known as Colonel Imam, in the presence of chief of Pakistani Taliban, Hakimullah Mehsud.
Col. Imam and another former ISI official, squadron leader ( retired) Khalid Khawaja, had gone to North Waziristan along with a British TV journalist, Asad Qureshi, to make a documentary on the Pakistani Taliban and victims of the U.S. drone strikes when they were kidnapped in March 2010.
Later, an unknown militant organization, Asian Tigers, claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and accused Khalid Khawaja of spying for the CIA. He was subsequently shot dead on April 30 near Mir Ali town.
Journalist Asad Qureshi and his driver Rustam Khan were released several months later reportedly after his family paid ransom to his kidnappers, who in reality were a group of Mahsud tribal militants and the Punjabi Taliban led by Sabir Mahsud and Usman Punjabi.
He was in the custody of militants affiliated with the Hakimullah Mahsud-led Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Family sources of the veteran intelligence officer said they were hearing rumors since Saturday about his death but till now there was no confirmation from any independent source.
Taliban spokesman Ihsanulah Ihsan had earlier claimed that Col. Imam has been killed.
Col. Imam was widely respected by the Afghan Mujahideen and also by the Taliban due to his role during the Afghan Jihad (1979- 89) against the Soviet forces in Afghanistan. Col. Imam had described himself as “teacher” of Taliban chief Mulla Muhammad Omar in several TV interviews.
He also served as Pakistan’s consul general to Afghanistan’s western Herat city for some years after the installation of the Afghan Mujahideen government. He had trained and backed the Afghan Mujahideen and was on friendly terms with Taliban supreme leader Mulla Mohammad Omar and other Taliban leaders.
Taliban had demanded money and release of their detained colleagues for the release of Col. Imam.
Chief of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, I.A. Rehman, condemned the murder of Col. Imam and described it as a brutal act.
——–Agencies