By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Thursday said the government would not negotiate with any terrorist or militant group, including Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Recently held meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) had decided that there will be no talks with any terrorist group, he said.
The NSC had concluded that talks, if needed, should be carried out with the Afghan government so that the importance of the Doha agreement, wherein the country had vowed to not allow its soil to be used against others, could be stressed,” Sanaullah said at a news conference.
“If that is implemented, then the issue of terrorism in Pakistan and other countries will be solved, and Pakistan will be safe if Afghanistan honours its promise.”
The TTP, an umbrella group of militants that associates itself with Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban, ended a months-old ceasefire with the government last year and launched a spate of attacks across the country.
Two Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officers were shot dead outside a hotel in Punjab on Tuesday. The TTP claimed the killing of both the officials.
A day earlier, the TTP also threatened to target the top leaders of the two major political parties in the ruling coalition if they continued to support tough measures against the militants.
The TTP warned Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari led Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) – the two major parties of the ruling coalition.
“For a long time, TTP has not taken any action against political parties,” TTP spokesman Muhammad Khorasani said in the statement shared with media.
“[But] if these two parties remain firm on their position … then action will be taken against the leaders of these parties. People should avoid going near them,” it said.
“[Our] target is Pakistan’s security forces who are acting against the country’s interest upon wishes of the West,” it added.
The TTP statement also included a note of caution for Pakistan’s religion-based political parties, urging them not to be a part of action against the group.
“The TTP policy does not include targeting your parties but we request you to avoid being part of any activity against us,” it said.
The TTP threat came two days after the NSC, announced its resolve to have “zero tolerance for terrorism” and “reaffirmed its determination to take on any and all entities that resort to violence”.
The NSC, which includes PM Sharif and newly appointed military chief General Asim Munir as its members, held a two-day meeting on December 30 and January 2 to assess the security situation in Pakistan. The NSC meeting marked the end of a tumultuous 2022 which saw at least 150 attacks by the TTP across the country, killing dozens of people.
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