PESHAWAR: Seven key commanders of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan’s (TTP) Mehsud faction, including former TTP chief Hakeemullah Mehsud’s brother Ejaz Mehsud and uncle Khair Muhammad Mehsud, surrendered near the Afghan border region in Upper Kurram Agency on Sunday, sources said.
The officials however abstained from explaining whether the two men crossed the Pak-Afghan border or were hiding on the Pakistani side of the border, sources said. There is also a possibility that more Taliban members surrender in the coming few days. The surrendered men were shifted to security forces’ fort in Tull area, they said. According to security sources, the surrendered TTP commanders have been shifted to Dera Ismail Khan and will later be sent to a rehabilitation center established by the Army in Swat for counseling.
Taliban were facing a serious rift after the death of their chief and some Taliban sources had also said earlier that nearly 200 people had been killed in clashes between the supporters of Hakeemullah and other rival commanders including Sheharyar Mehsud and Khan Said alias Sajna. In May, six TTP suspects including a deputy commander were also apprehended by the intelligence agencies from Sohrab Goth area in Karachi.
