Former ISI officer killed by Taliban

ISLAMABAD - “Colonel Imam”, a former officer of Pakistan’s Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) abducted in March 2010, was Sunday killed by the Pakistani Taliban in North Waziristan, media reports said.

The officer, whose real name was Sultan Amir Tarar, had gone to North Waziristan accompanied by another former ISI officer, Khalid Khwaja, BBC journalist Asad Qureshi and driver Rustam Khan.

They were abducted by the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, working in tandem with the Pakistani Taliban.

Khwaja, a former Pakistan Air Force and ISI officer, was killed April 30 last year by the Taliban on charges of working for the ISI and the American CIA, according to Geo TV.

The Taliban released a video of Khwaja in which he was heard admitting his links to the ISI and CIA and playing a double game with the Taliban.

The channel said Qureshi, the BBC journalist, and his driver Rustam were released in August 2010 after a ransom of Rs.30 million was paid.

Taliban sought Rs.50 million for the release of Col. Imam but negotiations in this regard made no headway and he was killed Sunday, the channel said.

Both Col. Imam and Khwaja were believed to be active Taliban sympathisers and had gone to North Waziristan with Qureshi to facilitate the making of a documentary.

However, an internal rift within the Taliban led to their captivity and the failure to find an amicable solution, the report said.

Imam had served 11 years in the ISI out of 18 years in the armed forces.

He also served as the consul general of Pakistan in Afghanistan and is believed to have played an important role in the formation of the Taliban.

Khwaja served for 22 years in the air force.