Muslim Khan

Muslim Khan is a Pakistani militant and former spokesman for the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan chapter based in Swat.

Muslim Khan
مسلم خان
Born1954 (age 66–67)
Kabal, NWFP, Pakistan
Allegiance Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan
Battles/warsWar in North-West Pakistan

Born in Kabal Tehsil, Swat, in 1954 Khan started out as a student activist of a left-wing secular party in the 1960s, but became a religious extremist in the early 1990s. He became the chief spokesman of the Swat Taliban in 2007.[1]

In an interview with New England Foundation for the Arts, when asked about his usage of American-styled English and pronunciation, he revealed that he had lived for some time in Boston, Massachusetts.[2] He had spent 4 years in the USA and worked as a painter in Boston.[3] The BBC reported that Khan spoke Pashto, Urdu, English, Arabic and Persian, and had lived in or travelled across more than a dozen countries in the Middle East, Europe, the US and Asia.[1]

In April 2009 he denounced any Pakistanis who disagreed with his interpretation of Islam calling them non-Muslims.[4] It was also revealed due to a telephone intercept that Khan had urged attacks on the families of soldiers. "Strikes should be carried out on their homes so their kids get killed and then they'll realise".[5] Before the start of the Army offensive against the Taliban, Khan claimed that his fighters controlled "more than 90 per cent" of Swat.[6]

After the 2009 operation in Swat he was still at large, vowing that his men will step up attacks.[7] However he was arrested on 10 September by the security forces of Pakistan [8] in the suburbs of Mingora.[9]

He was one of eight men sentenced to death by a military court on 28 December 2016 for terrorism and other offences.[10][1] Khan's appeal before the Peshawar High Court was weakened following the Supreme Court's decision in Said Zaman Khan v. Federation of Pakistan.[11] His sentence was briefly stayed by the High Court on 24 May 2017, on the basis of a petition filed by his wife.[11]

References
  1. "Pakistan to hang 'butcher of Swat' Muslim Khan". BBC. 2016-12-29. Retrieved 2017-02-04.
  2. Interview with Haji Muslim Khan: Part II April 27, 2009 (PDF). The NEFA Foundation. 2009-04-27. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 4, 2012. Retrieved 2009-08-24. I lived in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, a foreigner there.
  3. Watson, Ivan (2009-05-14). "Taliban: All local leaders must quit". CNN. Retrieved 2009-09-11. In an earlier phone interview with CNN, he described how he had spent four years living in the United States, working as a painter in the Boston, Massachusetts, area.
  4. TTP says Osama welcome in Swat: Taliban reject peace accord
  5. Taliban recruits teenage suicide bombers for revenge attacks
  6. Pakistan war planes bomb Taliban hide-outs
  7. Swat Taliban vow attacks after Ramzan
  8. TTP spokesman Muslim Khan arrestedDawn Pakistan
  9. Pakistan: Swat Taliban spokesman, 4 others held
  10. "General Bajwa signs black warrants of 8 terrorists - Pakistan - Dunya News". dunyanews.tv. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  11. Shah, Waseem Ahmad (29 May 2017). "'Brief respite' for former Swat Taliban spokesman". Dawn. Dawn Group. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
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