File photo of Ehsanullah Ehsan (left), former spokesperson of TTP. PHOTO: AFP
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistani Taliban say they are ready for dialogue with the new government but will also be ready for a full scale war if an operation was launched against them.
The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was responding to remarks by Interior Minister, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who said on Tuesday that the government is ready for peace, as well as war.
The TTP said it had offered dialogue for “peace and Islam” and it is now up to the PML-N government to come up with clear options.”If they (government) want dialogue we are ready to talk and if they want to go for war, they will find us ready for this option too,” Ehsanullah Ehsan, a senior member of the TTP’s Political Commission, said on Wednesday.
Ehsan, who was sacked as the TTP spokesman by the central leadership in June and is now working as the member of the group’s political commission, called The Express Tribune to share the Taliban reaction to Nisar’s comments.
Nisar said the government has considered the Taliban dialogue offer but has left a final decision to a proposed conference of political and religious parties who have representation in the parliament.
“If Nisar prefers the option of war, we will be 100 per cent ready to accept the challenge,” Ehsan said.
He said the PML-N had earlier pleaded for peace talks and Nawaz Sharif had himself expressed a desire for talks, “however, the PML-N government has not taken any practical step towards talks so far and now the interior minister is publicly giving threats of a war,” said Ehsan.
The TTP had offered conditional dialogue to the PPP-led coalition in February, however, the then government ignored it and had asked the Taliban to first surrender arms and accept the constitution.
The Taliban withdrew a similar offer for the new government in early June, days after a US drone killed its deputy Waliur Rehman Mehsud in North Waziristan.
Following the May 11 elections, the Taliban have increased their attacks across the country claiming the lives of nearly 400 people in just two months.
Line of Control tension
The Taliban leader said on Wednesday, that the TTP will open a front against India if its army did not stop ‘unprovoked attacks’ on Pakistani territory in Kashmir.
“If Indian does not stop firing along the LoC in Azad Kashmir, we will also target Indians and will defend Pakistani borders,” the TTP leader said. Asked about the logic of attacking Pakistani forces defending the country’s geographical frontiers, the Taliban leader said, “we are fighting the Pakistani government for the sake of Islam, but it does not mean that we will allow the enemies of the country to attack our homeland.”
Published in The Express Tribune, August 15th, 2013.
COMMENTS (24)
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Whatever the belief about TTP of various Pakistani factions(considering them pro-indian or anti-indian),one thing is clear-They need to be eliminated.Talks will only strengthen them, and give them time to do more damage to Pakistan.No mercy pleas for murderers.
@US CENTCOM: Dear CENTCOM, How many people have you killed in the last few months? You have to stop the blame game. This type of mentality has been ongoing for nearly 13 years and does not work. You will have to think of something which has a chance of working. Anything other than the last few years of failure will do.
@whitesky: You figured it out very, very correctly.
@Rabbani: "Look, whats happening here! An Indian-controlled militant group is threatening its own master, India. Is this a new game or India doesn’t control TTP anymore?
"
This is not the first time such a statement came from TTP. They had said something similar in 2008 in the wake of 26/11. Have you considered the possibility that India has never controlled the TTP?
TTP clearly knows that without the popular public support they can not survive. So they brought Islam in between the Pakistani government and TTP. To gain additional support from the patriotic ( Anti India = patriotism) Pakistanis they have extended their arm to fight Indian army on the border/ LOC
These Taliban must be eliminated for the sake of Islam. These 73 sects of Islam only known as terrorist and should be banned. Only Allah take lives and gives lives. They are committing "SHIRK" They have send wrong version of Islam to the rest of the world. Now the Pakistan must understand their version of Islam. what they have done so far against the principle of Islam. I must call them Kafar before they call somebody else Kafar.
Train snipers and assign them their elimination systematically.
The enemy’s hypocrite ways have left no trust. They speak of peace while they kill innocents without any remorse. Over 400 innocent Pakistanis have been killed just in the last sixty days. In recent polls, majority of Pakistanis have identified the terrorists as the number one enemy of the state, and they proven it day-in and day out with their killings. These common enemies have been on a killing rampage. We stand by the people of Pakistan during these testing times, and hope to continue our partnership and restore peace in the region through mutual cooperation.
Abdul Quddus DET-United States Central Command
Is there a common ground for talks? If there is, then go for a negotiation... Come-on, don't come and say we cannot talk with these people who have killed so many among us... In the past, we have talked to lot of others who have killed us more than this...
There can be no peace with these lunatics. The Pakistan army with the support of the government and the people of Pakistan must eliminate them once and for all.
Look, whats happening here! An Indian-controlled militant group is threatening its own master, India. Is this a new game or India doesn't control TTP anymore?
"“If Indian does not stop firing along the LoC in Azad Kashmir, we will also target Indians and will defend Pakistani borders,”
Now, I fully agree the Pakistanis that India is funding the TTP..........LOL !!!
TTP- enemy within and winning TTP was allowed to become a monstrosity that it is today by the inaction of the successive so called democratic governments. There should be a full scale operation against the Taliban whatever the cost may be, otherwise RIP peaceful coexistence, tolerance in Pakistan.
Eradicate these foreign funded beasts without slightest mercy. Those who say we can't afford war, should understand we can't afford these enemy agents. No matter war costs us huge, but do it for once and for all. We have already tried talking to them several times and have sacrificed lives of our soldiers and loved ones. Finish these enemies of Islam and Pakistan with full force.
No compromise, their only agenda is to kill for money! Identify and finish them without involving media. A dedicated team of hunters is needed that can keep eradicating them slowly and tactfully! Its purely our own war!
wht interior ministry said to india two days back, india's local franchise TTP said to pakistan.
It's them and us, they daring us to opt which way we wish to go. The man couldn't make it more clear than this, they in their own ways are offering us terms of surrender. Question is if we wish to capitulate like this, just give up whatever we got? What a shame and what humiliation, a few thousands barbarians can challenge a people, 180 million strong! No there's not going to be this humiliation anymore, Pakistan must move and solve this threat to itself and its citizens, no matter what, no matter at what cost.
wohooo! we got some supporters against india right there
Their ghastly looks defines their heinous crimes !
@Sajjad:
You have that amount of money to afford that war.There is an enemy on the East.Full scale war needs huge finances.That why we created the A Bomb to shorten that duration ,defend ourselves from being bullied and hence avoid a war.It has to be a combination of both. Engage them in dialogue and maintain a pressure with the military to make them actually successful. Cheers!
All nonsense. No need to negotiate. Just launch operation and fight them full scale.
Give peace a chance.
How these predator even can laugh in the above picture ? do they even know when to laugh ?