Pakistan Taliban leader Mullah Fazlullah killed in drone attack
Mulk made the comment in a telephone conversation Friday night with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and thanked him for sharing information about Fazlullah's killing, said a Pakistan government statement.
The call was initiated by Ghani, who tweeted that Fazlullah's killing was "the result of tireless human intel by Afghan security agencies."
"Killing of TTP commander is a positive development," the Pakistani army said in a statement.
"Pakistan military leadership has always maintained that a cooperative and coordinated approach is the best response to the menace of terrorism."
President of Afghanistan Mr Ashraf Ghani called COAS and shared news about killing of Mullah Fazal Ullah (MFU) in a drone strike in Kunar Province of Afghanistan. MFU was hiding there since 2009 and masterminded scores of terrorist attacks against Pakistan including APS. pic.twitter.com/6TltYn46nL— Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) June 15, 2018
A US official said the US believes that it is likely the strike killed Fazlullah, but efforts are ongoing to confirm his death. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss preliminary information.
In his tweet, Ghani said he also called Pakistan's Army Chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa. In both conversations Ghani said he urged Pakistan "to take practical steps to bring Afghan Taliban residing in Pakistan to the negotiation table."
Thursday's drone strike, which reportedly killed Fazlullah and five other insurgents when missiles slammed into the car in which they were driving, occurred just hours before Afghanistan's Taliban began a three-day cease fire.
The cease-fire, which took effect at midnight Thursday, marks the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which follows the Muslim holy month of Ramadan when the faithful fast from sunrise to sunset. The Afghan Taliban announced their cease-fire after Ghani unilaterally declared a temporary cease-fire for the holidays on June 7.
In Afghanistan's eastern Logar provincial capital of Pul-e-Alam dozens of unarmed Taliban celebrated the Eid holiday, several greeting Afghan security forces, provincial police chief spokesman Shahpur Ahmadzai said Saturday in a telephone interview.
"We didn't allow them to enter the city with their weapons," said Ahmadzai, adding at least 80 Taliban entered the city in the last two days to visit their families.
Atta-ul-Rahman Salim, deputy head of Afghanistan's High Peace Council, said Taliban fighters from across the country were reportedly entering into government controlled areas to visit their families "and they were being welcomed by government security forces".
Meanwhile, in his conversation with Ghani, Mulk said that Fazlullah's death would be received throughout Pakistan with relief as Pakistanis had borne the brunt of terrorist attacks by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, which Fazlullah headed.
The Pakistan government statement also said an "action had finally been taken against an enemy of the people and state of Pakistan".
Fazlullah was killed in Afghanistan's northeastern Kunar province. He had ordered the assassination of Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai.
Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a telephone interview that he could not confirm Fazlullah's death because of the remoteness of the area but also because Afghanistan's Taliban are not present in that area.
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