Taleban make plea to defector

THE Pakistani Taleban are trying to lure back a senior militant who recently quit the group as he controls strategic routes between Afghanistan and Pakistan and can block militants' escape paths, his supporters have said.

Last week's defection of Fazal Saeed, a Taleban leader in Kurram, is a serious blow to the Pakistan Taleban. He left the group over attacks that killed Pakistani civilians.

His faction controls important roads in North Waziristan's tribal region used for attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

He has now formed a new group, the Tehrik-e-Taleban Islami, comprising about 500 militants and is said to have close ties to the Afghan Taleban.