Islamabad (Agencies): The interior ministry on Friday told the upper house of the parliament that Ehsanullah Ehsan, former spokesperson of the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) and Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), would be tried in a military court.
State Minister on Interior Talal Chaudhry while responding to a question by Senator Farhatullah Babar on the detention and trial of Ehsan, and the nature of cases against him, said that the former terrorist leader would be tried in a military court.
The state minister said that it had already been decided that Ehsan would not be pardoned. "Relevant institutions have decided not to pardon or release Ehsanullah Ehsan," he said, adding that the relevant agency doesn't want to hide Ehsan; instead, it wants him to face a legal course of action. "They would not have made his video public if they wanted to keep him out of sight."
Earlier in the day, Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal in his written reply to Babar's question had made it clear that civilian agencies were not looking into the matter. He added that Ehsan's case would be sent to a military court after approval by the relevant committee in this regard.
Ehsan was associated with the TTP and served the outlawed organisation as its spokesperson. In 2014, after a split in the TTP, Ehsan had become a spokesperson for JuA — what was then a newly formed splinter group of the TTP.
He had claimed responsibility for the [attack on the Army Public School] that took place in December, 2014. In April 2017, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) had announced that Ehsan surrendered to Pakistan's security agencies. Later, the army had released a video in which Ehsan claimed that terrorist organisations were being "used" by India and Afghanistan.