ISLAMABAD: The father of a student who was martyred in the 2014 terrorist attack on Army Public School (APS), Peshawar, has invited the attention of the Supreme Court to reports that Ehsanullah Ehsan, former spokesman for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has escaped from the custody and fled the country.

Ehsan was the person who had after the massacre claimed that the TTP had carried out the attack in which around 140 people, including 132 children, were martyred.

In an application filed in the Supreme Court on Thursday, Ajnoon Khan, father of martyred Asfand Khan, said the families of Shuhada-i-APS were traumatised and under severe shock after hearing that Ehsan had escaped along with his family from Pakistan after spending three years in captivity.

“I have handed over the application personally to the registrar of the Supreme Court who has assured me that it will be put up for the perusal of Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed,” Ajnoon Khan said while talking to Dawn.

Addressed directly to the chief justice, the application raised a number of doubts, stating that these needed to be addressed to console the agonised mothers who lost their loved ones and are now living a completely shattered life.

The application recalled how in 2017 Ehsan had surrendered voluntarily to the armed forces or he was captured as a result of a covert operation by security agencies.

What kind of agreement was reached with him, the application wondered, which made the terrorist to be kept alive for three years despite his confessional statement for being involved in the killing of the students and staff of the APS.

How could he escape from the well-guarded custody, the application asked, wondering whether he was released with some conditions.

Why he was not tried in the court of law during these three years, the application asked, adding that the terrorist should be made answerable to the affected families of Shuhada-i-APS.

The application alleged that Ehsan was the mastermind of the APS carnage. He was not only the planner of the terrorist act, but also its financier who executed the attack as a result of which many people died and many suffered injuries.

The application has requested the apex court to put on notice the authorities concerned to explain why the state had failed in bringing such a high-profile terrorist to justice.

Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2020