Mullah Omar not directed TTP to stop war against Pakistani govt: TTP spokesman

Mullah Omar not directed TTP to stop war against Pakistani govt: TTP spokesman

Saleem Mehsud

PESHAWAR, Jan 04: Denying and reacting angrily to the media reports, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan on Wednesday said that neither Mullah Mohammad Omar has directed TTP fighters to stop fighting with the government of Pakistan nor TTP commanders informed the local and international media that TTP will end war with the Pakistani government.

Talking to Saleem Mehsud from an undisclosed location TTP main spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan and TTP spokesman for Mohmand Agency chapter Sajjad Mohmand, claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s attacks in Peshawar and Landikotal, saying that attacks were launched to avenge the killing of their colleagues being killed by the law enforcement agencies personnel in Landikotal. Both the TTP spokesmen said that attacks were also the evidence that TTP will continue its war against the government of Pakistan till complete implementation of Shariah in the entire country.

They denied the media reports that TTP was negotiating peace deal with the government, saying that current attacks claimed by the TTP would remove the ambiguity that TTP was negotiating any peace deal with the government. “The reasons on the basis of which the Taliban were against the US, the same reasons were found and present in Pakistan so our fight with the Pakistani government will continue till the implementation of Shariah,” Ihsan added.

Spokesman for TTP, headed by Hakimullah Mahsud, confirmed to have agreed with rest of the militant organisations in North Waziristan Agency on avoiding killing of innocent people and kidnapping for ransom, saying that various militant groups were operating in North Waziristan and all the organizations mutually constituted a Shura to deal any violent act according to Shariah. Ihsan said that the Shura’s work was just confined to the North Waziristan and the Shura was formulated because Shariah was not imposed in North Waziristan as implemented by the TTP in other tribal regions.

He said the TTP would extend all kinds of cooperation to the five-member Taliban Shura, established in North Waziristan for the implementation of Shariah in the said tribal region.

Ihsanullah argued that the Taliban joint Shura or council has in fact been formed for tackling two major issues i.e. to find an end to frequent incidents of kidnapping for ransom and killing of innocent people, especially those picked up by unknown people in the tribal areas and executed on charges of spying for the US forces.

Asked about reports attributed to the Afghan Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar urging Pakistani Taliban to stop their fight in Pakistan and instead support them in liberating Afghanistan from the ‘occupying forces’, he declined that Mullah Omar directed TTP to stop war with Pakistani government but said they would operate both in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

He said that Afghan Taliban were fighting in Afghanistan against the US led Nato forces and TTP will continue its war against the Pakistani forces, saying that Pakistani Taliban and Afghan Taliban are brothers and two sides of the same coin.

“For us Pakistan is as important as Afghanistan, therefore we cannot stop our activities here,” the TTP spokesman insisted.

He also denied differences within the TTP leadership, saying Hakimullah Mahsud was still leader of the Pakistani Taliban and Maulana Waliur Rahman was his deputy.

It is pertinent to be mentioned here that local and international media published reports that Mullah Omar asked all the militant groups including Pakistani Taliban to make an end to the fight with their own government rather enhance support to the Afghan Taliban where the fight against the US led Nato forces was in the decisive stage. It was also reported that Pakistani Taliban had declared an end to the war against Pakistani government and decided to shift their fighting strength towards Afghanistan.