TTP Commander Khorasani killed in Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD, January 10: Most wanted Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander and a spokesperson for the proscribed outfit, Khalid Balti alias Muhammad Khorasani was killed in Nangarhar province of Afghanistan.
He was appointed as the new spokesperson for the terrorist group in 2014 after former spokesperson Shahidullah Shahid declared his allegiance to Da’ish and had established a terrorist hub in Miranshah but after the successful operation “Zarb-e-Azb”, he escaped to Afghanistan.
Khorasani was involved in the killing of many innocent civilians and personnel of security forces and was involved in uniting different factions of TTP.
Last year, Pakistan had approached the Afghan Taliban leadership after the group returned to power in August with a list of demands that included action against the TTP. The interim Taliban government was even provided with a list of most wanted TTP terrorists.
But the Afghan Taliban instead offered its good offices to broker a peace deal with the TTP. Pakistan accepted the offer and after some face to face meetings between the two sides, a ceasefire deal was reached in November.
According to senior Pakistani official, Islamabad believes that TTP is a “test case” for the Afghan Taliban, as tackling the group would help the interim government establish its credentials in the eyes of the world with regards to dealing with other terrorist outfits.
Aged between 48 and 50, Khorasani’s real name was Khalid Balti. At the time of his killing he was not just the TTP’s operational commander but also its spokesperson.
Hailing from Gilgit-Baltistan, Khorasani received his initial education from his native town. In 2007, he joined the Tehreek Nifaze Shriat Muhammadi in Swat.
He also established close terms with the former TTP chief Mullah Fazalullah. He fled to Afghanistan and remained the TTP spokesperson after Pakistan carried out military operations in the erstwhile tribal areas. -DNA