Via Dawn:

The Pakistani Taliban say they are granting an “amnesty” to a Cabinet minister who is offering a $100,000 reward to anyone who kills the American maker of an anti-Islam film sparking deadly riots in the Muslim world.

Pakistani Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan told reporters on Wednesday that the minister’s views represent the true spirit of Islam. Consequently, the militants have removed him from their hit list.

“We have totally forgiven him and removed his name from our hit list,” the Taliban spokesman said in a phone call from an unknown location.

Ehsan said that Taliban shoora, a top consultative body, had met on Tuesday and “praised Bilour for his sacrifice for the cause of Islam”.

“The shoora paid rich tributes to Bilour and endorsed his bounty announcement,” he said.

But Ehsan clarified that others in Bilour’s secular party – The Awami National Party (ANP), which opposes the Taliban – won’t enjoy the reprieve.

Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmad Bilour had announced a $100,000 bounty for the killing of the maker of “Innocence of Muslims” – a film which has sparked deadly protests throughout the Muslim world. Bilour had also sought the Taliban’s and al-Qaida’s help in the “noble cause” of killing the filmmaker.