Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Mehsud Scout troops resigned over military’s support to religious extremists

KHYBER AGENCY: At least 23 soldiers of Mehsud Scout have reportedly tendered their resignations purportedly in reaction to alleged covert support to militant outfits in South Waziristan, North Waziristan, and Khyber Agency.

According to the Pashtun Times, “Inside the Mehsud Scouts, it is rumoured they have been detained for making public their support to the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) among their batch fellows and tending to participate in Pashtuns’ protest demonstration in Karachi.”

While other sources on condition of keeping his identity anonymous rejected the rumours of support to PTM and said, “all the paratroopers tendered their resignations in protest to the resurgence of the Taliban groups in the tribal belt particularly in the three tribal agencies well before the Pashtuns’ protest demonstration in Karachi,” the sources told The Pashtun Times on the condition of keeping his identity anonymous.

The PT (Pashtun Times) further reported, “One Subaidar, four Hawaldars, seven Lance-Nayaks, and eleven Sepoys have been detained.”

There is a growing concern among the paratroopers about the resurgence of the Taliban amid heightened espionage on the soldiers by FIU, an internal intelligence unit.

After PTM came out in full swing across Pakistan in condemnation to alleged support of Pakistan’s military to terrorist groups in the tribal belt bordering Afghanistan the Taliban reappeared mysteriously followed by target killings resumption.

Mullah Abd-ur-Rehman, Sadiq Nur, Hafiz Gul Bahadar, and Manhal Bagh reappeared in the federally administered tribal area (FATA) despite that Pakistan military had declared clearance after launching a number of security operations including Zarb-e-Azb, Raah-e-Haq and the National Action Plan (NAP).

The tribesmen who just recently repatriated from temporarily displaced persons (TDPs) camps in different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are once again gripped by a new wave of terrorism.

Protests against the resumption of target killing are going on in Mir Ali, North Waziristan. In Khyber Agency, Mangal Bagh, the dreaded emir of Lashkar-e-Islam reappeared in Bara after Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) organized a protest demonstration in Bara.

Sources: The Pashtun Times