Taliban offer security to PTI’s peace march

Imran’s party says it will go ahead with Oct 7 rally with or without govt’s blessings.

A day after the South Waziristan administration denied the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) permission to stage a rally in the region citing volatile security, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) offered security to Imran Khan and his supporters during their “peace march” scheduled for October 7.

According to British newspaper The Telegraph, in a recent meeting senior TTP commanders set aside earlier instructions to send suicide bombers to assassinate the cricketer-turned-politician.

Instead, the group commended Imran’s vociferous opposition to US drone strikes in the tribal regions. The TTP’s notorious chief Hakimullah Mehsud headed the meeting.

“We are ready to provide them security if they need. We endorse Imran Khan’s plea that drone strikes are against our sovereignty,” he said.

“The anti-drone rallies should have been staged by the religious leaders long ago but Imran had taken the lead and we wouldn’t harm him or his followers,” said a spokesperson for the TTP.

The PTI chief told a news conference on Sunday that the Mehsud, Burki and Bhittani tribes of Waziristan have assured him that they would provide security to participants of the rally, The Telegraph reported.

“We feel no threat from any side but feel threatened by the forces which have been playing politics on this issue,” Imran said, adding that the government should take steps to provide security to the media persons, who would be covering the proposed peace march.

Earlier, the TTP had criticised Imran’s statement in which he had called himself a “liberal”. The group contended that by classifying himself as a liberal, Imran had proved that he was a slave of the Western powers.

Meanwhile in Lahore, the PTI said that the party will go ahead with its planned “peace march” as per schedule with or without the government’s blessings.

PTI Information Secretary Shafqat Mahmood said the tribalpeople have welcomed the “peace march”, and there is no reason for the local administration to stop it.

He requested the South Waziristan administration not to create hindrances in the “historic march”, saying the rally was only being held to protest the barbarity of drone attacks and express solidarity with the people of Fata.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 3^rd, 2012.