Peshawar school attack: 16 top Taliban commanders named in FIR

Peshawar: Taliban chief Mullah Fazlullah, his deputy Khalid Haqqani and 14 of the top commanders of the militant group have been named in an FIR in the Peshawar school massacre, even as investigators on Thursday visited the site, collected evidence and recorded statements from the survivors.

Other Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) top commanders named in the FIR were — Hafiz Gul Bahadur, Saifullah, Mangal Bagh, Hafiz Daulat, Sarwar Shah, Maulvi Faqir, Abdul Wali, Qari Shakeel, Aslam Farooqi Aurangzeb, and Jan Wali.

The FIR has been registered at Machni Gate Police Station on behalf of Station House Officer (SHO) Sher Ali Khan.

As per the documents received from the Counter-Terrorism Department, the seven alleged suicide bombers — Abuzar, Umar, Imran, Yousaf, Uzair, Qari and Chamnay alias Chamtu — have also been mentioned in the FIR.

The suicide bombers were given training at Sheen Drang Markaz of Bara after which they were sent to Peshawar, according to the document.

It adds that the ghastly attack was planned by different extremist organisations during a meeting held near Pakistan-Afghanistan border area in the first week of December.

Furthermore, the vehicle used by the suicide bombers has also been identified and owner of the said vehicle has been arrested.

The vehicle was stolen from Islamabad and the report for the crime was registered in the Civil Lines Police Station.

Meanwhile, investigation and forensic teams of the police today collected evidence from the Army Public School in Peshawar, where 148 people, mostly children, had died in the ghastly Taliban attack on Tuesday.

The investigation teams also met with the survivors of the attack and recorded their statements.

The police is also believed to have arrested supporters of the attack on the school during search operations in the Afghan camps on the outskirts of the city.

TTP has claimed responsiblity for the attack, saying, it was in revenge for a ferocious army offensive – Zarb-e-Azb – that has been underway in the tribal areas since the summer and has left an estimated 1,200 militants dead and tens of thousands of people displaced.

“We selected the army’s school for the attack because the government is targeting our families and females. We want them to feel the pain,” Taliban spokesman Mohammed Umar Khurasani has said, claiming responsibility for the attack.

TTP is lead by Mullah Fazlullah who became the emir of the Taliban faction late last year after his predecessor Hakimullah Mehsud was killed by the CIA in a drone attack.

PTI