Islamabad: Bringing to forth the infighting within Taliban, top militant commander Maulvi Mohammad Nazir has warned supporters of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan chief Hakimullah Mehsud to leave Wana subdivision of South Waziristan within 48 hours or face "stern action".
Commander Maulvi Nazir issued the warning following a suicide attack in a Wana mosque in which 33 people, including former parliamentarian Maulana Noor Mohammad, were killed on August 23.
Sources said the Maulvi Nazir group suspected Mehsud`s supporters were behind the suicide bombing.
Tehreek-e Taliban is the militant umbrella group that include members from all of Pakistan`s seven tribal agencies as well as several districts of the restive Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa province.
Witnesses yesterday said Maulana Halimullah, a close associate of Maulvi Nazir, distributed pamphlets in Wana asking Mehsud`s supporters to leave areas dominated by the Ahmadzai Wazir tribe.
"We will take stern action against the culprits if they do not leave Wana in two days," the pamphlet said. In 2007, the Maulvi Nazir group, which enjoyed the support of the security forces, launched a campaign to evict Uzbek militants from the area. Dozens of foreign militants and their collaborators were killed in that campaign.
PTI
