It was the decision of TTP’s central shura to take revenge from those who were behind the killings of people in the tribal regions, says TTP spokesperson. PHOTO: AFP
“The first reason for attacking political parties is their secular doctrine. The second reason is that they were responsible for burning Fata, Swat and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa,” said TTP spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan in a statement.
He claimed that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Awami National Party (ANP) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) were responsible for the “displacement of millions of people, the plight of the Pakhtun, for abandoned villages and destroyed mosques,” adding that the TTP would avenge the oppressed.
Describing the May 11 parliamentary polls as ‘so-called general elections’ being held under a secular democratic system, Eshan said Pakistan “came into being under the banner of an Islamic doctrine, while elections are based on a secular doctrine. The two are contrary to each other because Islamic laws and values come from Allah Almighty, while the secular doctrine comes from Rousseau, Kant and Bentham.”
Claiming responsibility for the series of bomb attacks on politicians in Karachi, Peshawar, Swabi and Kohat, the spokesperson said that “a man cannot be secular and Muslim at the same time.”
When asked separately as to why the TTP was not targeting other political parties, including religious parties, Ehsan told The Express Tribune that it was the decision of TTP’s central shura to take revenge from those who were behind the killings of people in the tribal regions.
Earlier, the TTP spokesperson had rejected a religious edict (Fatwa) by Pakistani religious scholars declaring the casting of vote as ‘compulsory under Islamic injunctions’ declaring it an attempt to fool the masses.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 29th, 2013.
COMMENTS (43)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
if only our leaders knew where to point the nukes!
@yuri k, i agreed but making that happend is wrong dont u think.
@LHW: and their utter corruption and submission to the exploitation of the people though global imperialist agenda. If these secular parties were any good, they would have done something in the five years they had to curb the overwhelming feeling of fear and resentment among the tribal belt which is providing fuel to these manic murderers for their operations. Instead, they added fuel to that fire. Now they are burning. Unless this fire is blown out soon everyone will burn. We DON'T need these liberal parties, not because they are liberal, but because they are incompetent and corrupt.
they got weight in there saying.
Sorry to say this but, there is no way to argue against this statement in terms of Islamic history and theology.
They r using the name of Islam & Pashtuns & they are killing both Muslims & Pashtuns. They are our biggest enemy. They want to make us fool in the name of islam & pashtunwali. I request all my Pashtun brothers, that don't support them. They are killing our children our men & women. They have destroyed our economy. because of these people we are displaced from our homes. there is no business in our area and we are forced to leave our homeland. we are also treated as 3rd class people in foreigns. if someone tells u that pashtuns are treated very good in foregin countries they are false. i m in Saudi and i want to tell u that pashtuns are beleived to be terrorists all over the world. Please stop supporting these people. they are responsible for all our sufferings. Only you can bring peace to your country. Identify these people among you and inform the Law Enforcement Agencies.
Muslim cant be a secular but can be libral....... not extremist.
Guess what, we are not afraid!!
so Ehsan is a hobbesian? i don't understand what he's trying to say..
What a way to spread Islamic Ideologies. No religion permits killing of innocent peoples. If MQM,ANP & PPP are culprits so TTP is not doing the right thing.
@M:
A man cannot be a mass-murderer/terrorist and Muslim at the same time.
According to who? Rousseau, Kant and Bentham?
@asif: Sir how many western philosophers and social scientists one has to study to implement Sharia? On one hand we keep hearing that Islam is a complete way of life and on the other some are gloating over terrorists reading a few books or quotations! Regards, M
Why they don't target the religious parties when they are also taking part in these "secular "elections"? WHY?!
Further "displacement of millions of people, the plight of the Pakhtun, for abandoned villages and destroyed mosques,” adding that the TTP would avenge the oppressed."
Displacement of millions of people?! you are certainly making thousands more miserable by your senseless killings, it is very ironic that you care about destroyed mosques but kill innocent people! You would avenge the oppressed? How? by killing the innocent and making them (us) even more oppressed.
Please leave our country. We don't need your Islam. From a Muslim
By giving votes to parties like PML - N, PTI or JI , means giving to power to parties working under direction of talibans
Dear TTP ! Me and millions Pakistani like me will vote for secular parties since we do not want to live a life of oppression under your reign . Our religion is our personal matter and we do not need any moral police . so please get out of our lives and our homeland Pakistan .
Actually, one can be secular and Muslim at the same time. Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (aka Bacha Khan) and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad are classic examples.
@M: Well said!
Pakistan is the world stupid country. Where the authorities (the agencies) thinks they can make the whole world fool and cheat for decades instead of adopting a positive attitude and developmental role in the best interest of its even own people. All the institutions and specially agencies have been involved in the decades of blame gaming, power play and cheating, destroying own people and putting the country in various disasters. Basically TTP and other organizations are the agencies self-created bodies and they are playing double games using one group against other; providing finance and support and then build a new one to control the previous one; playing with NATO, FATA, Pashtuns, Arabs etc. In the destruction of so called pakistan the role of its mindless agencies and establishment is highly lethal.
There was a time when the state was declaring people non muslim, now the disease seems to have spread far and wide.All power to MQM, ANP and PPP.
I cannot believe that the TTP does not see the ridiculous irony here - they are killing politicians because they don't agree with their ideology? Seriously? For God's sake - when are law enforcement and the military going to put an end to this massacre of innocent people. People are being murdered for what they think? How much worse will it get for being a human being in my country?
While the TTP attacks are thoroughly condemnable and should be condemned vociferously, the title is wrong in including the PPP as a liberal party. It is a feudal party with feudals holding sway over the people under thier influence in and around their fiefdoms. Liberal slogans, yes, cosmetic services to the poor, yes, but the essence of feudal power and policies makes the PPP a retrogressive entity.
After killing thousands of innocent people on the name of religion, this terrorist TTP is like kauwa Chalha Hans ki chall apni Chal bhi bhol gia
So its all revenge and not Jihad!
fair and tall, true believer from Pakistan. inshallah help them
PPP,MQM,ANP may be left of center and more liberal than the other parties but no party which swears by the Pakistani constitution can be secular since the constitution itself is not secular. So their being secular is not the reason for being killed. Yes their being more tolerant than others could be the reason. Pity that tolerance is rewarded by death.
Going by the fact that he has heard, or more amazingly, might have read the three western philosophers, he is ahead of almost all of our secularists. These guys are no morons and our secular intellectuals don't have a counter-arguments while staying within the realm of Islamic doctrine.
@Pseudo-Liberal:
DEAR THESE THREE R
1Kant= Kant was a theologian; he basically thought out the Categorical Imperative of Man; and that is 'I AM.'
2)Rousseau= Rousseau was a social philosopher; he wrote the 'Social Contract.' This an agreement between the people and the new government after the french revolution.
3)Bentham = Bentham was a social philosopher; he was a brit. He was passionte about prisoner reform and the concept of utilitarism
Will TTP go after PUC (Pakistan Ulema Council ) members too as they have declared voting as Islamic (which TTP say as Un Islamic) ? What about the ECP who said that Religion can not be used in election campaign?
Look at his face.. he looks like a comedian rather than a militant. Must have joined the film industry, had there been any :p
on a serious note, kill such fags
This might seem harsh to some but its the truth.
PPP, ANP and MQM are reaping what they sow. It is because of their terrible policies, for America's sake, they are in this mess.
Their policies created the TTP, and it has become a menacing force. But, now these parties are complaining why are they being targeted? Seriously? Have they no sense?
It seems these parties dug their own graves.
Though these men are cold blooded killers and the urge to go after them with fire and metal is pretty strong, we as Pakistanis must not stray from combining military action with smart politics. Elections must happen, the disenfranchised, the marginalized, and the disillusioned must be brought back to the mainstream of national life, and only after the radicals are thoroughly sidelined should exterminators be called in. A thoughtless and highhanded response will cause our fragile country to lumber into the trap the TTP are setting.
“a man cannot be secular and Muslim at the same time.”
A man cannot be a mass-murderer/terrorist and Muslim at the same time.
Rousseau, Kant and Bentham - now on my reading list.
Can someone please tell me if he actually referred to "Rousseau, Kant and Bentham"? LOL
This time the liberal cowards will run away with their loot and we will inherit God's Kingdom. This will be brought by an TTP designed Armageddon; Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be Done. Better get used to a new World of spirituality, where punishment will come from the Kazi and all current Judges and Courts are dissolved and dispensed.
smug pock faced coward
I hope people cribbing against PTI understand what's happening? Three parties aren't targeted. The other two are JI, & PML N.
Now stop criticizing PTI & get on with life.