WASIM IQBAL &

AAMIR SAEED

ISLAMABAD: Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif on Wednesday sought the extradition of chief of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Mullah Fazlullah from Afghanistan during his meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. Gen Raheel flew to Kabul on Wednesday morning on a special visit and he was also accompanied by Director General Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) Rizwan Akhtar. On his return, the army chief also held a meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad and briefed him about his visit to Kabul.

Defence sources told Business Recorder that the chief of army staff shared classified intelligence information with Afghan officials and revealed to them that the mastermind behind the Peshawar attack was from Afghanistan.

The Afghan officials were also informed that the terrorists who stormed Army Public School were being directed and controlled from Afghanistan.

“Pakistan army has sought full cooperation from Afghan officials to eliminate the network of terrorists on their side by launching a full-scale operation against them,” they said.

General Raheel also met International Security Assistance Force commander General Joseph Dunford. Dunford condemned the attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar and assured Pakistan of complete cooperation in countering terrorism and in security related matters.

Ghani was given a complete briefing on terrorism and security related issues during his visit to Pakistan in last week of November. He held detailed meetings with army chief General Raheel Sharif and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during his two-day official visit.

During the Peshawar terror attack, it transpired that a Taliban commander Umar Naray had masterminded the assault on the army-run school as Pakistan army reportedly intercepted the communications between the militants in the school and the commander.

“The security agencies traced the whereabouts and location of the Taliban commander and the same has been shared with the ISAF commander and the Afghan president,” the sources said.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan spokesman Muhammad Umar Khorasani claimed responsibility of the attack and termed it an act of retribution for the on-going Pakistan military operation, Zarb-e-Azb, in North Waziristan.

“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,” Khorasani said in a statement to media.