PARACHINAR: A brother of Hakimullah Mehsud, the slain leader of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), his uncle and four other suspected militants have surrendered to the authorities.

According to officials, the surrender by Hakimullah’s brother Ijaz Mehsud, uncle Khair Mohammad and other militants took place in Shahidano Dand, a troubled area close to the Afghan border in Kurram Agency. Names of the other militants could not be ascertained.

The six were taken to a garrison in Thall.

Sources said that after the death of Hakimullah, his brother had joined the Sajna group, a splinter faction of the TTP.

Hakimullah was killed in a US drone attack near Miramshah, the headquarters of North Waziristan Agency, in November 2013.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2016