Pak Taliban warns govt not to prosecute militants

The Pakistani Taliban have warned that their fighters were targeting civilians and government employees who helped the prosecution of arrested militants, according to a media report today.Militant commander Sirajuddin Ahmad, the spokesman for the Taliban in Swat, said the militants had started targeting civilians and government employees who wanted to help the authorities and would become witnesses in court against militants currently in custody on terrorism charges.Ahmad, who spoke on phone to The News daily from somewhere in Afghanistan, said Maulana Fazlullah, the former Taliban commander in Swat, had directed his fighters to eliminate political leaders and government and military personnel who could assist courts or become witnesses against militants arrested during military operations.He claimed a political leader from the Kanju area of Swat was attacked by the Taliban on Saturday for allegedly suggesting to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa police chief Akbar Khan Hoti that detained militants should be punished for their involvement terrorism and violence.Ahmad claimed the informers of the Taliban were present in the jirga (tribal council) that was held by the provincial police chief at Mingora.He said the police chief, in response to the demands of the people of Swat, said the government was unable to prosecute and punish detained militants due to lack of evidence and witnesses against them.