PESHAWAR – The Taliban warned on Monday to decide the fate of 23 abducted Mehsud tribesmen, who were kidnapped around two weeks ago from Razmak, North Waziristan, for greeting Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani.
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan spokesman Azam Tariq told reporters over telephone that the internally-displaced Mehsud tribesmen were in TTP’s custody. The tribesmen had moved to North Waziristan from South Waziristan after the military launched an offensive in Mehsud-dominated areas in October 2009.
Officials have confirmed the abduction.
“A 23-member group of Mehsud tribesmen had gone missing around two weeks ago when they were meeting some militant commanders. The group consisted of common tribesmen and IDPs, and the group members had welcomed the army chief in Makeen during his visit,” a security official in Mirali told Pakistan Today.
Tariq said the 23 tribesmen had been produced before the Taliban Shura and the hearing had been completed. “We will decide whether to kill them in a day or two,” he said. Some members of the Mehsud Peace Jirga said the abduction of IDPs from North Waziristan was a message for tribesmen and elders who were involved in the repatriation process.
One of the elders said the group had been abducted to discourage Mehsud IDPs from returning to their respective areas, because if the IDPs returned to their native areas, the military might launch an offensive in North Waziristan.
