PESHAWAR: In a major breakthrough during the ongoing Zarb-i-Azb military operation, a key Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander, Adnan Rashid has been reportedly arrested by Pakistani security forces.
Highly placed sources told Dawn.com on Tuesday that
the firebrand Taliban commander was arrested by the forces in Shakai valley of South Waziristan four days ago in injured condition after he tried to escape from North Waziristan’s cordoned off area due to the military operation.
He has been shifted to an undisclosed location by a helicopter.
Adnan Rashid, who was serving a jail term for attacking former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf, had escaped from Bannu Jail on Aril 15, 2012 after an attack by insurgents armed with guns, grenades and rockets. Nearly 400 prisoners including Taliban militants also escaped in the jail break.
Rashid also gained attention by
writing a letter to teenage education activist Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the head by the Taliban in an attempt to kill her. Adnan Rashid had said he wished the attack hadn't happened, but told Malala that she was targeted for speaking ill of the Taliban.
He was enjoying the facility of cellular phone inside the death cells of different jails where he was lodged after being sentenced to death by a field general court martial for his alleged attempt on the life of Gen Musharraf.
The former junior technician of Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Rashid is a resident of Chota Lahore area of Swabi district in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtukhwa province. He is fluent in English, Pashto and Urdu. He used to contribute to several social networking sites including Blogs and Facebook from the prison. He had joined PAF in 1997. He was around 24 when he was arrested in early 2004.
The escaped prisoner was in contact with the world outside the prison through his cellular phone, according to sources. He was also in touch with several journalists and used to send them messages through short message service (SMS).
Prior to his escape from Bannu Jail, Rashid continued to plead his innocence and claimed that his only crime was that he had voted “No” in the referendum held by the then military president Gen Musharraf.