Islamabad, Feb 24 (PTI) Pakistan Army said on Wednesday that action was taken against "intelligence" officers responsible for the escape of former Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan from military custody last year.

Ehsan, who was arrested in 2017, escaped in January 2020 from a so-called safe house where he was being held by the forces.

"It was a very serious issue and those responsible were punished after thorough investigation," said Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar, the spokesman of the army's media wing - the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

"Efforts are underway to re-arrest him (Ehsan) but at the moment we are not aware of his whereabouts," he said.

The spokesman didn't identify the officials whose negligence resulted in the escape or what kind of punishment was given to them. But BBC Urdu reported that the army's media wing sent a statement to it, saying that the officials referred to by the spokesman belonged to "intelligence agencies". Again the "agencies" were not identified.

Ehsan made headlines recently after he threatened Nobel laureate Malala Yousfzai with a second attempt on her life. The Taliban had shot and badly wounded Malala nine years ago.

"This is the ex-spokesperson of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan who claims the attack on me and many innocent people. He is now threatening people on social media. How did he escape?" Malala tweeted after receiving threat on Twitter.

Maj Gen Iftikhar said that the Twitter account used to threaten Malala was fake.

The charges against Ehsan include the Army Public School massacre in Peshawar in 2014 wherein 144 people - mostly children – were killed by the Taliban militants.

He also claimed responsibility for the 2012 shooting of Malala.

Maj Gen Iftikhar also spoke at length about peace efforts in Afghanistan and said that Pakistan was using all influence on the Taliban to bring peace but it was up to the people of Afghanistan and their leaders to decide their future.

"Our objective is to help bring a durable peace in Afghanistan…Even Afghan leaders are now saying that Pakistan has made sincere efforts for peace," he said.

The spokesman also said Afghanistan had changed and it was not possible to repeat the situation of the 1990s after withdrawal of the US troops.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)