TTP threatens to kill more ANP leaders

TTP threatens to kill more ANP leaders
PESHAWAR: A close aide of Baitullah Mehsud and senior commander of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Thursday claimed responsibility for the suicide attack on Awami National Party (ANP) MPA Alam Zeb Khan in Peshawar.“We carried out this attack and will continue such attacks on ANP leaders in future,” Hakeemullah Mehsud, who heads the TTP in Orakzai, Kurram and Khyber tribal regions, said in telephone calls to media offices in Peshawar. Alam Zeb Khan died of excessive injuries when a powerful bomb went off near his car in Peshawar on Wednesday. He became the first target of the Taliban since the Pukhtoon nationalist party took power last year. The ANP became a major target of the outlawed TTP after its peace deal with Maulana Fazlullah in Swat collapsed and a military operation began to target the Taliban. Asfandyar Wali Khan, central ANP president, survived a suicide attack on Eid Day at his Wali Bagh residence last year, while relatives of several ANP MPAs from Swat have also been targeted. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti announced Rs 5 million for the grieved family and recommended the federal government’s higher gallantry award for the deceased MPA. The CM’s Gallantry Medal, along with Rs 500,000 in cash, was also announced for the late MPA’s family.The chief minister assured the family members that the ANP government would bring the perpetrators of the crime to justice.