File Photo. Aref Karimi—AFP
Statement says Muslim Khan and Mehmood Khan were arrested in 2009 when they visited Peshawar for peace talks.
The Pakistani Taliban on Wednesday claimed two of its commanders including a former spokesman of Swat chapter were fatally poisoned while in custody of security forces.
In a statement issued to the media, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) said the two commanders were arrested in Peshawar along with five other members when they visited the city for peace talks with the government in 2009. “Our members were kept in different prisons and tortured till Aug. 25 this year [when two of them were] poisoned to death,” the statement claimed.
Muslim Khan was spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban when it ruled Swat from 2007 to 2009, where it imposed a harsh brand of sharia law and carried out public floggings and hangings. The second commander was named Mehmood Khan, but no further details were given about his former role in the organization.