Islamabad: Arrest warrant issued against Pakistan Taliban chief

Islamabad, Dec 20: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Pakistan on Saturday issued non-bailable arrest warrants against Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Mullah Fazlullah, spokesman Shahidullah Shahid and nine others for storming the Karachi airport in June 2014, Dawn online reported.

At least 30 people, including all 10 attackers, were killed after an all-night gunfight with militants who besieged Karachi airport's old terminal.

Claiming responsibility for the attack, TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid had said that the attack was carried out to avenge the death of Hakimullah Mehsud, former TTP chief who was killed in a US drone strike earlier this year.

Pakistan has been battling militant groups since 2004 after its army entered the northwestern tribal belt bordering Afghanistan to search for Al Qaeda fighters who had fled across the border following the US-led invasion of Afghanistan.

The warrant comes after the deadly Peshawar attack on a school

In June, the army began an offensive, Operation Zarb-e-Azb, against militant hideouts in the North Waziristan tribal agency after the bloody raid on Karachi airport ended faltering peace talks between the government and the Taliban.

Saturday's court order comes as Pakistan is intensifying its anti-terrorism operations following Tuesday's brutal TTP attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar that left more than 140 students and teachers dead.

PTI