Zee Media Bureau/Supriya Jha
Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan: A key commander of Tehreeke-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), who had escaped in a major jailbreak two years ago, was arrested near South Waziristan last week, reports said.
However, the terror outfit Pakistan Taliban has denied the arrest reports, reported the CNN.
The TTP commander named Rashid Adnan was sentenced to death in 2004 for attempting an assassination bid on former President General Pervez Musharraf in 2003.
Adnan Rashid was serving in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) when he was arrested by Pakistani security agencies for his alleged role in an attempt to assassinate General Musharraf.
However in 2012, Pakistan Taliban orchestrated a well-planned jailbreak in Bannu prison, making way for Rashid to escape.
Besides masterminding the assassination attempt on Musharraf, Adnan Rashid is also known for having written to Pakistani teen activist Malala Yousufzai after she was shot in head by Talibani gunmen.
In the letter, Rashid clarified to Malala, that she was not shot because of her women`s education campaign, but because she spoke ill of the Taliban.
Rashid also wrote to Malala that the Taliban endorsed the education of women, till it was under the Islamic law.
Rashid`s arrest, if confirmed, can be seen as a positive outcome of Pakistan Army`s Operation `Sword of the Prophet` that started in June to weed out Taliban militants from North Waziristan.
According to Pakistani officials, Rashid fled from North Waziristan after Pakistani airstrikes and went to hide in South Waziristan, from where he was taken into custody.
