Pakistan Taliban Threaten to Kill Musharraf on His Return

Pakistan's Taliban has threatened to kill former president Pervez Musharraf on his return to Pakistan after a four-year self-imposed exile.

Musharraf is planning to return to Pakistan on 11 May to participate in the parliamentary election.

The Taliban is reportedly targeting Musharraf because of his decision to side with the United States in its war against terror in the aftermath of the 9/11 attack. Musharraf is also being accused of other anti-Islamist acts.

In a recent Taliban video, Adnan Rasheed, who once tried to kill Musharraf, warned him of the consequences of his return to Pakistan.

"The mujahideen of Islam have prepared a special squad to send Musharraf to hell. There are suicide bombers, snipers, a special assault unit and a close combat team. When the jackal's death is near he heads to the town," Rasheed says in the video footage, obtained by Reuters.

In 2003, Rasheed planted explosive devices under a bridge which Musharraf was about to cross. The assassination attempt failed as the bomb exploded moments after his motorcade had passed.

Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan has also issued a warning to Musharraf. "The Pakistani Taliban is fully prepared to deal with this pharaoh. If god is willing, we will give this devil what he deserves and give satisfaction to the victims of the Red Mosque," he said .

Musharraf's crackdown at Islamabad's Lal Masjid in July 2007 is seen as the tipping point in the relationship between the Pakistan government and Taliban militants.

The siege of the mosque complex ended when Musharraf dispatched the Pakistan Army's Special Service Group to kill the militant Islamic clerics, headed by Maulana Abdul Aziz and Abdul Rashid Ghazi, who wanted to impose Sharia law on Pakistan. More than 100 people died and 50 militants were captured in the siege.

The siege spiralled into an uncontrollable war between the Pakistani establishment and the Islamic militants, which resulted in nearly 3,000 casualties between 2007 and 2010.

In April 2012, 150 Islamist fighters stormed the Bannu prison in north-western Pakistan to free 384 prisoners, including Rasheed, who had been imprisoned for eight years for plotting Musharraf's death.