Swat’s wanted Taliban commander is already in jail!

PESHAWAR: Following its mistake in publishing the picture of a banker instead of a wanted Taliban commander from Swat, another blunder by the NWFP government has come to light as it included the name of an already jailed militant in its list of the 21 most wanted militants’ commanders.

A Swati Taliban commander Liaqat is already in prison in Dera Ismail Khan but the ANP-PPP coalition government was unaware of his arrest. His name was thus included in the list that was published in the form of a half-page newspaper advertisement two days ago to lure informers with the promise of monetary reward for those able to assist in the capture of the 21 Taliban leaders and commanders from Swat.

In the advertisement released and paid for by the NWFP government, Liaqat is identified as a local Taliban commander in Swat’s Khwazakhela area. Head-money of Rs 2 million for him is also mentioned. In the picture published in the advertisement, Liaqat is wearing a white Chitrali cap and has a grey beard with a sprinkling of black hair.

But the same man is imprisoned in the Central Prison, Dera Ismail Khan, where he was shifted last year from the Timergara jail in Lower Dir district. He was among five Swati Taliban prisoners who were moved to Dera Ismail Khan following incidents of violence in the Timergara prison. Another 15 Taliban prisoners from Timergara were first shifted to the Haripur jail and then brought to Dera Ismail Khan. Seven Swati Taliban prisoners are still being held in the sprawling, largely mud-built prison at Dera Ismail Khan. Others were freed following the peace deal in Swat or shifted to different prisons.

Officials at the Central Prison, Dera Ismail Khan, told The News that the jail superintendent, Khalid Abbas, was intrigued when he saw Liaqat’s picture in the newspapers. He and his deputy superintendent, Binyamin, quickly probed the matter and their doubts were confirmed when it turned out that Liaqat was already imprisoned at the Dera Ismail Khan prison. Khalid Abbas promptly reported the matter to the Inspector General of Prisons, Akbar Khan, in Peshawar.

Taliban commander Liaqat, whose year of birth in his national identity card is 1950, belongs to Langar village in Swat’s Khwazakhela tehsil. Seven cases are pending against him in Anti-Terrorism Court but he hasn’t been produced in any court thus far.

The ignorance of the NWFP government about Liaqat’s arrest is the second instance of faulty intelligence regarding the whereabouts of the Taliban commanders. In the advertisement that was published by the provincial government to announce head-money for the 21 top Taliban commanders from Swat, the picture of the wrong person was used and he was identified as militants’ commander Qari Mushtaq belonging to Gulibagh area. A monetary reward of Rs 3 million was offered for his capture.

Instead of the real Qari Mushtaq, the photo of Mohammad Mushtaq, a 29-year old bearded man from Mingora, Swat employed as a research officer in the Sharia department of the Bank of Khyber in Peshawar, was published. It alarmed Mushtaq and his family as the provincial government had offered the reward money to anyone who could apprehend the wanted men alive or dead. He went into hiding and then approached the police to clear his name. It was the second time that he had fallen into trouble for having the same name as Taliban commander Qari Mushtaq and also for hailing from Swat. In March 2008, sleuths from an intelligence agency had nabbed him after mistaking him for Qari Mushtaq.