PESHAWAR: Pakistani Taliban has set up a special death squad to target former Pakistani president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf upon his arrival, who is expected to land in Karachi on March 24, says a militant video released on Saturday.
The outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has also called upon the Baloch insurgents to join hands with the militant outfit to wage a joint-war for implementing Shariah laws in the country.
In about a six-minute long video received by Dawn.Com, the TTP has threatened to use suicide bombers, snipers and combat teams to kill Musharraf.
Separately, speaking to Dawn.Com earlier, TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan had said the group had set up squads of suicide bombers to assassinate the former president.
“Suicide bombers are being trained and assigned to assassinate” the former president, Ehsan said.
Moreover, Adnan Rasheed, who took part in a previous attempt to assassinate Musharraf, has been given the charge of these suicide squads.
Rasheed is a former junior technician of Pakistan Air Force who was on death row after getting convicted by a field general court martial for engineering an attack on Musharraf in December 2003. He was among the prisoners who had escaped during the April 15, 2012 Bannu jail break.
“Pervez Musharraf, you can see this death squad around me. We warn you to surrender yourself to us otherwise we would hit you from where you would never imagine you can be hit,” says Adnan Rashid appearing in the video wearing military uniform with his hooded fighters carrying assault rifles.
The video also shows the newly-formed death squad fighters, being taught military drills by Rashid.
Accusing Musharraf of pushing the tribal areas and Balochistan into bloodshed in the name of war on terror and killing innocent students in Jamia Hafza (Lal Masjid), Ehsan in his video message says, “Musharraf is again coming to Pakistan to deceive people, but we would be greeting him with our death squad and he would be eliminated.”
“We are ready to take on the biggest dictator and killer of humanity (Musharraf) and we assure the affectees of Jamia Hafsa, the families of those killed in the tribal areas and Balochistan on Musharraf’s behest that they would get justice,” Ehsan remarked, adding “Musharraf is also responsible for the killing and handing over of hundreds of Arab Mujahideen and Dr Aafia Siddiqui to the Americans just for dollars.”
“My Baloch brothers, the TTP would avenge the ongoing atrocities against you but we request you to join hands with the Taliban for the implementation of true Shariah as your forefathers had done in the past,” he said adding, “we request you to get up for the implementation of true Shariah in the country.”
Adnan Rashid wearing a brown Waziristani cap appearing in the video further said, “Our death squad for Musharraf include, suicide bombers, snipers and assault and close combat team and they are properly trained to accomplish their mission.”
Musharraf angered the Taliban and other groups by joining the US war on terror following the September 11 attacks and later launching a major crackdown on militancy in Pakistan.
Musharraf is due to return to Pakistan on Sunday from Dubai, after nearly four years of self-imposed exile, in time to take part in parliamentary elections on May 11.
