ISLAMABAD: The Sen­ate’s Standing Committee on Interior has issued directives to the ministry of interior, the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and police to include Ehsanullah Ehsan as a suspect in the Malala Yousafzai attack case.

Moreover, it was sugges­ted that a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) should be constituted to interrogate him [Ehsan] as he had first-hand information of the case.

In a letter addressed to the interior ministry, KP home ministry and the Inspector General Police, the chairman of the standing committee, Rehman Malik, said that since the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had claimed the responsibility for the attack on Ms Yousafzai at the time when Ehsan was the spokesperson for the militant group, he should be included in the investigation.

The letter said that the responsibility of attack on Ms Yousafzai was claimed by the Taliban and was announced by their then spokesperson, Ehsan.

“While he [Ehsan] is now in custody and has made several revelations about the involvement of India, Afghanistan and other countries in terrorism activities, it is important to investigate the motives behind the attack on Ms Yousafzai and see if any country was involved,” letter said.

“The name may be put in the FIR of the attack on Ms Yousafzai for further course of investigation. A JIT should be constituted to interrogate him as he has first hand information of the case. Moreover progress of the previous investigation and details of the FIR and statements of the young girl, her parents, colleagues and other witnesses may be put before the committee,” letter added.

Ms Yousafzai was born in 1998 and received her early education in Ming­o­ra, Swat, where for many years the Taliban had barred girls from attending school.

The young education and women’s right activist was shot in the head and neck on October 9, 2012, by militants and was taken to the United Kingdom for treatment. She resides there with her family now.

Published in Dawn, May 12th, 2017