PESHAWAR, May 26: The Pakistani Taliban issued a fresh threat on Sunday to assassinate former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, who is currently facing a barrage of legal cases in police custody.

The retired general has been detained in his farmhouse near Islamabad since April 19 on charges of conspiracy to murder former premier Benazir Bhutto, sacking of judges when he imposed emergency rule in 2007, and the 2006 death of Nawab Akbar Bugti.

Before his arrival in March, the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) threatened to kill him for his alliance in the US-led war against terrorism and attempts to clamp down on militants, when he was in power.

TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan on Sunday issued a fresh warning in a video message posted on the Taliban website Umar Media, saying “Soon we will punish this Satan (devil) to death for his wicked deed”.

Gen Musharraf went to the top of the Taliban hit list after ordering the army in 2007 to storm the Red Mosque in Islamabad, where radicals were holed up.

The operation left more than 100 people dead and opened the floodgates to militant attacks in the country.—AFP