US leaders assured of operation against TTP, Haqqani Group

WASHINGTON: Before initiating the recent North Waziristan offensive, the top Pakistani leadership took the US in confidence, saying that Pakistan was ready to take action against all the militant groups, which included the notorious Haqqani Network. The US has been watchful of the ongoing operation but remains sceptical of the reported results given the history of distrust between the countries.

Over the last few weeks, senior officials of the two countries addressed the issue in different meetings, where the political as well as military leadership of Pakistan assured the US officials about their decisive action against the militants.

The assurance came not just from one quarter but from almost all the stakeholders tasked with security of the country.Ambassador James Dobbins, the US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, told the US Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs on Wednesday: “We have been assured by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, army chief Raheel Sharif, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar and the head of the ISI Gen Zaheer.”

Dobbins went on to say that according to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Rashad Mahmood, “They [Pakistan] are going to treat all militant groups similarly and that they are going to force all foreign militants out of North Waziristan and Pakistan.”General Mahmood is visiting Washington this week, and has had numerous meeting with state and defence department officials.

Answering a question raised by Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Sen. Robert Menendez about the willingness of Pakistan to confront the Haqqani Network during the operation, Ambassador Dobbins said that there were concerns that were justified but “we will be examining this carefully, we have gotten the right assurances but there is a historical pattern of activity which indicates that there are habits here that are going to be difficult to break.”

Referring to the military action against the militants, he said: “We have made our position clear that it’s a right thing.”For years, the United States has been pushing Pakistan to root out the Haqqani Network, who allegedly were given sanctuary in the country’s tribal areas. The State Department in its latest country report on terrorism highlighted the issues once again: “Afghan Taliban and Haqqani Network leadership and facilitation network continued to find safe haven in Pakistan, and Pakistani authorities did not take significant military or law enforcement action against these groups.”

Lately, the US has also linked military aid, including the Coalition Support Fund payments to Pakistan, directly to an operation in North Waziristan. According to the terms of the National Defence Authorisation Act for the upcoming year, senior US officials had to issue a waiver certifying that “Pakistan has undertaken military operations in North Waziristan that have significantly disrupted the safe haven and freedom of movement of the Haqqani Network.”

Testifying before the committee members on US policy in Afghanistan, Ambassador Dobbins said: “It’s notable that among the targets that Pakistan is going after vigourously are the Uzbek groups.”

He also said that the civilian and military point of view was to give the TTP a chance to disarm and respect the Constitution. The US, he said, had no objection to it. The move was to appeal some of the elements of the insurgency off, Dobbins said adding, “They needed to go into the massive operation of this sort — which was going to produce a lot of refugees, a lot of cost, a lot of damage to innocent people as well as to the guilty, on the basis of a strong national consensus.”

Dobbins said that Pakistan now had a strong national consensus. He maintained that civilian and military leadership in Pakistan had had their differences but the said operation suggested that both parties were on the same page now.

“Historically, there has been a strong distinction between civilian and military leadership, and while this has not gone entirely away, the two are a lot closer and civilian authority over the military is gradually being demonstrated,” Dobbins said, adding that “the prime minister has authorised and directed this particular action, while I think military might have had a different view throughout this period they saluted and done what they have been told.”

Our response will be tough: TTP

 

ISLAMABAD: As fighter aircraft conducted overnight airstrikes at the positions of Taliban militants in North Waziristan, the Taliban on Sunday said they will give a tough reply to the operation.
In a statement, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said they were keeping an account of the ‘dozens of innocent people’ killed in Sunday’s military strikes.Shahid said they had not closed the doors of dialogue with the government and were still ready for meaningful talks. However, he insisted that the government should adopt a serious approach to revive the process.

He said they were ready for meaningful talks with the government as their negotiation team was still intact.“The government has constantly adopted a non-serious approach and instead of focusing on the peace process, it started creating a rift within the Taliban to divide them. This forced us to end the ceasefire and launch counter-attacks which was our right and obligation under the Islamic system,” the TTP spokesman said.

Shahid disputed the military’s claim about the Taliban casualties in Sunday’s strikes and claimed that “civilians were also killed.”He said the leaders were fooling the nation through attractive slogans and urged the people of Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Islam-minded people of Punjab to stay at an arm’s length from this war of the rulers.He said the ruling elite had sold off sensitive issues like peace and security for dollars after making billions in different walks of life.

Key TTP commander among three killed in NWA

PESHAWAR: An important commander of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), along with two other militants, was killed in the armed clash of two groups of Taliban in North Waziristan on Thursday.

Ashiqullah Mehsud, a key commander of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and a so-called expert of suicide bombings was killed in a firing incident in North Waziristan tribal region Mir Ali, private news channel reported.The sources said that Ashiqullah was sitting with some members of the TTP when he was assaulted by the gunmen who escaped in a car after firing.

Both official and tribal sources confirmed that Ashiqullah Mehsud was the main commander of the TTP and was considered the master trainer of suicide bombing after Qari Hussain Mehsud who was the top expert and the inventor of suicide bomb blasts.

Intelligence sources believe that the incident is the result of a rivalry between Shehryar Mehsud and Khan Said Sajna groups. The latter also parted ways with the central TTP group.None of the groups have claimed responsibility for the attack yet. Furthermore, no statement has been issued by the TTP about Ashiqullah’s death so far.

TTP split a major dividend of talks policy

ISLAMABAD: The parting of ways by the Khan Said alias Sajna faction of the Mehsud militants with the TTP is considered as one of the major dividends of the government’s dialogue policy, which right from the beginning created a rift between the pro-talks and anti-talks militants.

Sajna was one of those leading Taliban commanders who even last year had conveyed to Ulema, involved in the first round of the talks process that ended with the killing of Hakimullah Mehsud by a US drone, his willingness to engage for peaceful settlement of the issue.

The Sajna-led Mehsud militants have enormous influence in South Waziristan and now there are growing chances of a possible agreement between the government and the Sajna group. In South Waziristan, the military already has an agreement with the Mullah Nazir Group — known as “good Taliban”. In such a scenario, South Waziristan would become peaceful.

Sources engaged in the dialogue process during the last several months hope that the North Waziristan-based Hafiz Gul Bahadar group could play an important role in getting a peace deal signed between the government and the Sajna group. Like the Mullah Nazir group in South Waziristan, the military already has a peace agreement with Hafiz Gul Bahadar group in North Waziristan. The Gul Bahadar group is also bracketed in the category of ‘good Taliban’.

Government sources are excited at the move of Sajna-led Mehsud militants. They insist that they would talk to all those who want to talk to attain the objective of peace. These sources said there are some other Taliban factions, who are also in contact with the government for a dialogue.

Former Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq had announced on Wednesday the Mehsud militants’ decision to part ways with the TTP. “It is unfortunate that the leadership of the Pakistani Taliban has fallen into the hands of naive persons and conspirators bringing a bad name to the Jihadi organisations in the world,” Azam Tariq was quoted as saying by the media.

“After days of thinking and discussions, we finally decided to abandon Mullah Fazlullah and the people around him. The majority of members of our Taliban network have been involved in un-Islamic activities. They are engaged in the killing of innocent people, kidnapping for ransom and extortions which had never been the objectives of our slain leader Baitullah Mehsud,” said Azam Tariq, a former schoolteacher.

Azam Tariq had said his new group will operate under the banner of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan-South Waziristan Agency (TTP-SWA), and added that Khalid Mehsud, whose real name is Khan Said alias Sajna, would lead the new faction of the Mehsud Taliban.

The government-Taliban dialogue process was facing suspension during the last several weeks because of the infighting within the TTP, which led to the most serious setback to the Taliban unity since the TTP’s creation.It is said that Mullah Fazlullah, who is presently leading the TTP, is not acceptable to military authorities for his “crimes” whereas not much opposition is there for Sajna, who has been a known supporter of the talks process.

Even on Wednesday, Azam Tariq told the media: “We wanted to find out a peaceful solution to the conflict and favoured the peace talks with the government. However, those Pakistani Taliban sitting in Afghanistan and running the group from across the border opposed the talks.”

This situation is encouraging for those who have been supporting the dialogue process. While there were many who always disapproved the talks process, it was a foreseen conclusion that the dialogue process would divide the Taliban while the military operation would unite them.

Mehsud group’s separation termed big blow to TTP

ISLAMABAD: Analysts have described the Mehsud faction’s parting its ways with the Tehrik-i-Taliban (TTP) as a big blow to the proscribed outfit, saying the latest development has opened more options for the government.

However, the analysts have warned that Mehsud group’s links with ‘Punjabi Taliban’ and al-Qaeda may be dangerous.

Former diplomat and member of Taliban negotiation committee, Rustam Shah Mohmand said that the separation would prompt Mehsud group to engage in separate talks with the government and try to secure a peace accord.

Expert of tribal areas and Afghan affairs, Rahimullah Yousafzai terms the separation as breaking of the backbone of the Taliban. This may lead to further disintegration of the outlawed TTP, he added.

Earlier, spokesman of TTP’s Mehsud faction Azam Tariq addressing a press conference said that TTP’s control has fallen into the hands of invisible forces due to the presence of a gang of plotters within.

He said that the controversy over sect, cult and ideology has given rise to mistrust and misgivings among other factions of the TTP.

“We tried our best for reforms and unity within the TTP, but the gang of plotters seemed to have succeeded,” he said.

Azam Tariq is also the member of TTP’s central shura.

Prof. Ibrahim appeals TTP, army to lay down arms

PESHAWAR: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) leader and member Taliban negotiating committee, Professor Ibrahim has appealed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the army for making dialogue process successful, Geo News reported.

Addressing Tribal Jirga in Peshawar here Thursday, Professor Ibrahim said the army and Taliban are real parties and if the military wants, the dialogue process would become successful. He appealed both TTP and the military to lay down their arms.

He also asked both the parties for ceasefire in respect of the sacred month.

JI leader said if the Islamic articles of the constitution were implemented, they gave assurance that Taliban would accept the constitution.

“We organized a meeting between government committee and Taliban shura in which process of confidence building began”, he added.

Ibrahim said the judiciary is a major part of the constitution, however, the people of Fata are deprived of its benefits.

TTP says it doesn’t know who to talk to for peace

ISLAMABAD: Accusing the government of using the dialogue process as a political tool and to increase military operations, the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Thursday said they did not know who to talk to in Islamabad, as they believed the government had no powers to reach an amicable solution.
In a statement, TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said they did not know whether they should talk to the government or the military.Shahid said talks and war could not go together adding that the Taliban had the right to defend themselves. He said, on the one hand, the government claimed it was interested in the dialogue but, on the other hand, it hurled threats at the Taliban.

He said the army had imposed a war on the people in Babar and Shaktoi areas of South Waziristan in the last two days. He also condemned the police action against the relatives of missing persons in Islamabad and said such a situation could not provide an environment for a meaningful and serious dialogue.

“The TTP has insisted that it is ready to talk in the interest of Islam and the Muslims of Pakistan. But we will not accept that the dialogue is used as a political tool and to pursue war startegy,” he said.

Shahid said the TTP had shown sincerity and seriousness during the talks and gifted a 45-day ceasefire to the people and the country but the government had not shown any seriousness since the talks took off.

He said the Taliban had left it to the people of Pakistan to decide whether a war or talks could go together and asked if it was the responsibility of the Taliban only to make the process successful.

He said the Taliban will not step back from serious and useful talks but would not accept the politics of threats and war.“We are fighting for the supremacy of Sharia and our Mujahideen have the capability to face any difficult situation and know how to give a befitting response to the enemy,” the TTP spokesman said

Taliban team contacts TTP shura

PESHAWAR: Taliban nominated negotiating committee has made a contact with Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) political shura and asked it for time and venue for meeting.

This was stated by member Taliban team Professor Ibrahim, while talking to Geo News here Monday.

He said: “we are waiting for response of Taliban shura and will leave for meeting whenever TTP calls us”.

Prof. Ibrahim said the government talks team had asked him for making contact with Taliban.

TTP seeks two days to decide venue for direct talks

 

PESHAWAR: The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has asked for two days to decide the venue of a meeting between the TTP Shura and the government committee, a private TV channel reported on Saturday.
The TTP made this request after the Taliban peace talks committee contacted the TTP Shura. Member TTP negotiation committee Professor Mohammad Ibrahim confirmed the TTP request.

Talking to mediapersons, Professor Ibrahim hoped that the ongoing peace talks between the government and the TTP would yield positive results.

On April 23, government negotiators and Taliban intermediaries had agreed to form a subcommittee to look into reservations from both sides in an effort to keep the nascent peace dialogue process. This was done at a joint meeting of the government negotiating team and the TTP’s intermediary committee.

The government has already made it clear that it would not be possible to move ahead with talks in the absence of a ceasefire.

Meanwhile, the federal government has decided to release 13 more non-combatant Taliban prisoners in an apparent bid to get the peace talks back on track. The Taliban too have hinted at releasing some of the hostages, sources told the private TV channel.

Ali Haider Gilani says kidnappers not TTP

ISLAMABAD: The government on Friday confirmed that it had received a video message of Ali Haider Gilani the kidnapped son of former Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan told Geo News that the kidnappers had demanded Rs500 million for the release of Ali Haider Gilani after an earlier demand of Rs2 billion. Nisar said Ali Haider could be seen in the video bound by chains.

According to Nisar, Ali Haider Gilani said in the video that his abductors were not affiliated with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and his family was not taking serious steps for his release.

Ali Haider Gilani further says in the video that if measures are not taken for his release within one month he will be killed.

Ali Haider Gilani was kidnapped from Multan on May 9, 2013 from outside a PPP office. He was the second son of a high-profile PPP leader who was kidnapped.

In August 2011 Shahbaz Taseer the son of late Governor Punjab Salman Taseer was kidnapped from Lahore.

Both the kidnappings have been linked to the outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.

TTP announces not to extend ceasefire

PESHAWAR: The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has announced that the 40-day long ceasefire will not be extended.


In a statement TTP spokesman, Shahidullah Shahid said the government did not give a satisfactory response to the Taliban’s 40-day ceasefire and 50 of their detained members were killed during this period.

The TTP spokesman said the decision to not extend the ceasefire was taken by the Taliban shura. Shahidullah Shahid added if the government takes any serious step, the TTP will respond.

According to Shahidullah Shahid the dialogue process with the government would continue.

The TTP had declared a month-long ceasefire on March 1, 2014 during the dialogue process with the government. Later the ceasefire was extended for ten days which expired on April 10, 2014.

Speaking to Geo News Taliban Committee member, Professor Ibrahim said the decision to not extend the ceasefire would not impact the dialogue process. "We will continue our efforts in trying to extend the ceasefire."

Professor Ibrahim said reservations of the TTP had been communicated to the government.

Senior Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir said Taliban are skeptical of the government’s seriousness in holding talks and they accused secret agencies of creating rifts among the TTP ranks.

He said Taliban leaders saw hidden hands of Pakistan’s security agencies in recent deadly clashes between the Sheheryar Mehsud and Khan Said Sajna groups of the terror outfit.

“Taliban say government agencies tried to install Khan Said Sajna as TTP chief after the killing of Hakimullah Mehsud,” Hamir Mir told Geo News.

He said that the Taliban were also unhappy over government’s unwillingness to free their prisoners.

Ceasefire ends, talks process to go on: TTP

 

 PESHAWAR: Announcing to end the 40-day ceasefire, the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Wednesday said they would not extend the truce and threatened to give a ‘tit-for-tat’ response to the government if it used force against them.
However, the Taliban expressed willingness to continue the peace talks with the government if it showed sincerity and seriousness.“It’s not good news for the common people as they may have been expecting something different from us. But we are forced to end our 40-day ceasefire as the government, despite having a ceasefire, continued violence against our people in the whole country,” said Shahidullah Shahid, the spokesman for the outlawed TTP.

He called this correspondent from somewhere in the tribal areas, along the Afghan border, and argued that the decision to end the ceasefire with the government was made in the central Shura of the Taliban on Wednesday.

“You may know that majority of our people were not happy when we announced the ceasefire initially on March 1, 2014. But despite their opposition, we followed the ceasefire and in return we made some demands from the government such as release of civilian prisoners, ending the crackdown on our people and stopping torture on Taliban prisoners in jails and secret detention centres. And the last demand was about a peace zone for us within thetribal areas,” the Taliban spokesman explained.

However, he alleged that the government and its law enforcement agencies had violated the ceasefire and accelerated actions against their people all over the country.“During this 40-day ceasefire, the government forces and agencies killed our 50 people during raids and in jails and threw out their bodies. Most of our people were arrested and tortured to death in Karachi and others were taken from the Punjab,” the Taliban spokesman claimed.

He said they were not expecting any crackdown in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the tribal areas, but claimed the police and secret agencies conducted operations against them in Swabi and Hangu in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and in Kurram and Orakzai regions in the tribal areas.

“Only in the Kurram Agency, they arrested 107 civilians during the ceasefire for suspicion of having links with the Taliban. Seven tribesmen disappeared from one home in Thana village in Kurram Agency for providing stay to me at their home. I can swear that I have not been able to go to Kurram during the past one year. These are the issues that made it difficult for us to prolong the ceasefire with the government,” Shahidullah Shahid recalled.

He said it was difficult for them to convince all the TTP factions on the ceasefire as, according to him, some of them were not willing to cease fighting against the government.“Besides our own people, we even approached other militant groups in the country and requested them to stop the attacks during their ceasefire. Though they weren’t part of us, they cooperated and honoured our ceasefire,” the TTP spokesman said.

Shahidullah said they had extended the ceasefire till April 10 and wanted to see if the government would come up with practical steps.“The Shura members discussed all these issues in detail and found that the government didn’t accept even a single demand of the Taliban during the 40 days of ceasefire, then why they would extend it,” he said. The spokesman said they were free now and would give a ‘tit-for-tat’ response in case the government used force anywhere in the country.

“Previously our hands were tied due to the ceasefire but now there is no restriction on us,” he said.Even that the ceasefire no longer existed, Shahidullah said, the Taliban Shura had decided to continue the peace talks with the government if it was sincere and serious.

“We felt during these 40 days that the government is powerless in making important decisions. The power of making decisions lies somewhere else,” the Taliban spokesman noted.The Taliban had given a list of 800 prisoners, whom the militants claimed were all civilians.

They wanted the government to release them from jails and secret cells of security agencies. They also wanted to have a separate place in Fata, especially in South Waziristan, without the presence of security forces, where they could live along with their families and meet the government negotiation committee.

The Taliban had disowned the 19 civilian prisoners whom the security forces had freed in Wana, the headquarters of South Waziristan, on March 31.Omar Khalid Khurasani, a feared militant commander and the TTP leader in Mohmand tribal region, also issued a statement on Wednesday saying that it was the unanimous decision of the Shura to end the ceasefire.

Omar Khalid Khurasani had earlier announced that his faction would not extend the ceasefire and threatened to launch fresh attacks on the government and its installations when one-month-long ceasefire expired on March 31.

Mullah Omar wants TTP to end infighting, join spring offensive

ISLAMABAD: The latest call by the ameer of the Afghan Taliban Mullah Mohammad Omar to the Pakistani Taliban to end their infighting in South Waziristan is actually aimed at securing their support against foreign troops in Afghanistan to launch the annual spring offensive with full force which is about to begin with the end of the winter season.

As bloody clashes intensify between two major factions of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan led by Khalid Mehsud alias Said Khan Sajna and Sheharyar Mehsud alias Shahbaz to capture the command of the Taliban in South Waziristan, Mullah Omar has appealed to the militants in a pamphlet [written in Pashto and distributed in the Miramshah area of North Waziristan on April 14] to work out their differences and end their internal strife.

It is for the first time that such a pamphlet has been distributed in Pakistan on behalf of Mullah Omar who is the supreme leader of both the Afghan and the Pakistani Taliban.

The pamphlet states that all the Muslims and particularly the Mujahideen are informed about the serious differences and clashes between two Mehsud Mujahideen groups. Mentioning verses from the Holy Quran, Mullah Omar has been quoted in the pamphlet as asking the people to recite it 100 times a day so that the hostilities between the warring militant groups of Mehsud tribe could come to an end.

According to well-informed diplomatic circles in Islamabad, the ameer of the Afghan Taliban’s call to the Pakistani Taliban for a truce between the two key warring factions has confirmed earlier reports that Mullah Omar had used his influence to persuade the TTP ameer Mullah Fazlullah for initiating peace talks with the Pakistan government primarily to prevent a Pakistani military action in Waziristan before the withdrawal of the US-led Allied Forces from

Afghanistan. The ameer of the Afghan Taliban was of the view that instead of wasting their energies in battling with Pakistan Army, the Taliban on both sides of the Pak-Afghan border should prepare themselves for a decisive battle in Afghanistan after the American withdrawal for the revival of the Taliban Emirates of Afghanistan.

Mullah Omar had been influencing the Pakistani Taliban in the past as well by using his influence with TTP leadership to help broker numerous peace deals with the Taliban in the tribal belt. The authority of Mullah Omar, who has been in hiding ever since the fall of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in 2001, extends beyond the Pak-Afghan border as the Pakistani Taliban also recognize him as their supreme leader, being their Ameerul Momineen, just like the Afghan Taliban. Therefore, Mullah Omar’s anguish over TTP’s infighting is but natural which has forced him to ask the Pakistani Taliban to end their infighting in South Waziristan. The TTP leadership also realises the fact that the current infighting was weakening their position with every passing day at a time when they are holding talks with the Pakistan government being the representative of the Pakistani Taliban.

Diplomatic circles in Islamabad believe that the TTP’s ongoing talks with the PML-N government were a tactical ploy to ensure a short-term truce which would be used to whole-heartedly support the Afghan Taliban in their upcoming spring offensive against the US-led allied forces stationed in Afghanistan. A spring offensive is launched every year by the Afghan Taliban after the winter season is over. In fact, due to harsh weather conditions, the Taliban slowdown their military activities and resume it as the spring approaches and the weather conditions improve. As yet another spring approaches, another offensive is being planned. But the Afghan Taliban believe that unlike in the previous spring offensives since they were booted out of power from Afghanistan, they are better placed than before, especially when the US-led coalition forces are scheduled to withdraw from Afghanistan by 2014.

The Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, led by Mullah Omar, are still a strong force and are openly mocking the Nato and Isaf troops by saying that they are fleeing their country in disgrace and humiliation. To recall, the TTP had struck a clandestine peace deal with the Pakistani establishment in January 2013, before the start of the spring offensive that year, as per which the Taliban had agreed that they won’t attack the Pakistani security forces in the Fata. The deal was motivated by Mullah Omar who wanted to unite all the Taliban groups in Waziristan on a single platform to reorient the direction of their battle away from Pakistan and towards the allied forces in Afghanistan.

Subsequently, the Shura-e-Muraqaba, an anti-US war body consisting of five key al-Qaeda-linked Afghan Taliban groups, was launched. The five members of the Shura included the Afghan Taliban led by Mullah Mohammad Omar, the Haqqani Militant Network led by Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Tehrik-e-Taliban led by Hakimullah Mehsud and two more groups of militants led by the South Waziristan-based Maulvi Nazir and the North Waziristan-based Hafiz Gul Bahadar. The TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan had made public the formation of the Shura through a press release, saying all the militant groups have reposed their confidence in Mullah Omar’s leadership and accepted him as the consensus leader of Afghanistan. He had added that the unity among the militants came after a call by Mullah Omar, telling the Pakistani Taliban to stop fighting at home to join the battle to liberate Afghanistan.

Ehsanullah had said the TTP would send its fighters to Afghanistan after March for waging jehad against the US-led “infidel” forces.

“Convey my message to the Pakistani Taliban that you have forgotten the real purpose, which is to fight the US-led invading forces in Afghanistan and liberate it from their occupation. Forget all your differences and give us fighters to boost the battle against America in Afghanistan”, a reported statement by Mullah Omar had cautioned the TTP leadership at that time.

However, what remained hidden was finally made public by Commander Sirajuddin Haqqani, the chief operational commander of the Haqqani network who conceded the existence of a peace deal with the Pakistani security establishment as per which the Pakistan Taliban, Afghan Taliban, Haqqani network and Maulvi Nazir and Hafiz Gul Bahadur groups won’t attack the Pakistani troops and instead they would focus their attention on the Allied Forces. The revelation came in a statement by Sirajuddin Haqqani, directing the Pakistani Taliban to stop attacking the Pakistani security forces in accordance with a peace deal, thus giving credence to media reports that the militants and the military have struck a clandestine ceasefire. Sirajuddin had issued these directives as the ameer of the Shura-e-Muraqaba.

Shortly afterwards, the spring offensive was launched with multiple attacks targeting Western embassies, the Nato force’s headquarters as well as the parliament building in Kabul. As the spring of 2014 has almost approached, the TTP is already busy holding talks with the Pakistan government amid reports that the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan have secretly agreed to focus on carrying out operations in Afghanistan, with Pakistani militants announcing a ceasefire with their government in order to preserve militant bases used to stage cross-border attacks. An Afghan military commander Major General Sharif Yaftali has already blamed Pakistan on April 12 for exporting terrorism to Afghanistan.

The current level of relationship between the Pakistani Taliban and the Afghan Taliban was well-described by TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid on October 6, 2013 in these words: “The Afghan Taliban not only financially support the Pakistani Taliban in their war with Islamabad but they also provide them sanctuary in Afghanistan. The Afghan Taliban are our jehadi brothers. In the beginning, we were helping them. But now they are strong enough to support us financially”, said Shahidullah Shahid while conceding that Mullah Fazlullah is being given shelter in Kunar province by the Afghan Taliban.

Only govt can remove army reservations: TTP

 

KOHAT: The proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) said on Sunday that the reservations of the army could be removed by the government only.
The Taliban negotiation team members said that the list of freed prisoners had not been handed over to them by the government. Dismissing reports about any rift in its ranks, the TTP said that some elements in the media were busy playing up petty differences among its members.

Talking to The News on phone from an undisclosed location, TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said that the extension in ceasefire would be decided by the Taliban Shura. “We want to make it clear that the entire TTP has nothing to do with the ongoing clashes taking place in Waziristan between two groups. The bitterness was caused as a result of some misunderstanding among our colleagues in that particular area,” he said.

He insisted that the central Shura of the TTP had resolved the differences. He claimed that the skirmishes between the two factions were not linked to the ongoing peace talks with the government or the issue of extension in the ceasefire.

Shahidullah Shahid asserted that all factions of the TTP stood by the decisions of the central Shura that acted on the orders from their chief Maulana Fazlullah.

“The TTP dismisses the reports about differences in its ranks as mere propaganda,” he said. “We know the elements who are involved in such practices so we want to tell them that indulging in such things is against the journalistic values,” he added.

Agencies add: President JI, KP chapter, Professor Ibrahim Khan has assured about the resumption of dialogue with the Taliban soon.

Addressing the inauguration of two-day workshop for his party activists in Swabi on Sunday, Ibrahim, who is a member of the Taliban dialogue committee, said that there was no other way to come out of the crisis except this dialogue and expressed his strong resolve to pursue the course even if the current efforts failed.

He expressed concern over the abduction of 17 persons from Haider Kandao, Orakzai, and said that many of the abducted persons had been released. He backed the Taliban’s demand for the implementation of Shariah in the country.

The Taliban liaison committee member, Maulana Yousaf Shah, said that the Taliban-government talks after a deadlock would begin again from Monday.In an interview with a private TV channel, Maulana Yousaf Shah said that there was no split in the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), as all the groups were operating under one umbrella and supported the TTP talks with the government.

Maulana Yousaf said that talks with the government would again begin from Monday. In the first phase, steps would be taken for an indefinite ceasefire, he said.He further said that the government and the Taliban had been advised to put the issues in the formal agenda of the meeting in a bid to resolve them.

Maulana Yousaf said that the government had not formally demanded the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to release Ali Gilani and Shahbaz Taseer.Meanwhile, the government negotiation committee member, Rustam Shah Mohmand, said that the process of peace talks with the Taliban would restart soon.

Talking to the media in Peshawar, Mohmand said, “We shall clearly tell the situation in a meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.”He told media men that the future strategy would be decided now as the PM had returned from abroad. He also stated that the meeting would discuss the Taliban prisoners.“In the next few days, the timings and venue of the peace talks between the two sides will be decided,” he added.

TTP commanders move to end infighting

PESHWAR: Taliban commanders have redoubled their efforts to bring about a lasting ceasefire between two rival factions of the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in South Waziristan Agency (SWA), the BBC reported on Saturday.

Some sources claimed that the two warring factions had ceased fire; however, this couldn’t be verified independently.According to reports received from South Waziristan, TTP senior commanders on Saturday met Commander Khan Said alias Sajna and Commander Sheharyar separately and asked them to end the fighting.

Local sources said some JUI-F MNAs and senators were also using their good offices to ensure a ceasefire to prevent further loss of life on both sides.Meanwhile, talking to media representatives, TTP Commander Azam Tariq claimed that the two warring factions had ceased the fighting that had led to scores of deaths on both sides due to some misunderstanding.Tariq contested media reports about the number of fatalities.It was also reported that not a single skirmish had taken place in South Waziristan from dawn to dusk on Saturday.

TTP condemns blast, terms it ‘un-Islamic’

 

PESHAWAR: The spokesman of the proscribed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, Shahidullah Shahid, while condemning the bomb blast at the fruit and vegetable market, Islamabad, claimed on Wednesday that the TTP was still adhering to the ceasefire announcement and termed the killing of innocent people unethical, un-Islamic and prohibited.
He said that the TTP condemned the bomb blast that killed 24 people as well as the attack on a train in Sibi on Tuesday.In a statement, Shahidullah Shahid said that attacking innocent civilians was illegal and prohibited adding that the Taliban condemned the blasts that targeted public places. “Hidden elements shouldn’t be ignored in such acts,” he added.

Shahidullah Shahid said that the oppressed people of Balochistan and Sindh were their brothers but targeting innocent people was a crime.He said that foreign hands should not be ignored in such attacks because they wanted to punish the people for their love of Islam. He said after failing to suppress a militant organisation, these forces launched attacks to defame the organisation. He said in the past as well, these hidden hands carried out blasts in Lahore, Peshawar and other cities to bring a bad name to the TTP.

Shahidullah Shahid said that the ceasefire announced by the TTP had been recognised by the media and asked the people to realise who was behind such heinous crimes.

 

Hope JI Amir will carry forward Munawar’s mission: TTP letter

PESHAWAR: Geo News has got hold of a letter from the Pakistani Taliban addressed to the newly elected Amir of Jamat-e-Islami (JI) Maulana Sirajul Haq which stresses that an armed struggle is a must to enforce an Islamic system in the country.

“Our destination is the same but the difference is in the modus operandi to achieve it,” said the letter from Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Mohmand Agency head Umer Khalid Khurasani addressed to JI Amir.

It further said ‘it is hoped that you (Sirajul Haq) would carry forward the mission of Syed Munawar Hassan without making any compromise’.

 

Strategy on TTP demands prepared

 

ISLAMABAD: The strategy pertaining to the demands made by the defunct Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has been prepared as the civil and military leadership on Friday decided to go ahead with the peace process with the TTP, the sources said.
According to the sources, the decision was taken during the different meetings chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at the PM’s Office. The Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), General Raheel Sharif, and Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafiq Butt had one-to-one meetings with the prime minister.

Nawaz Sharif also chaired a high-level meeting on the security issues before leaving for Lahore which was also attendedInterior Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director-General Lt-Gen Zaheerul Islam and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Syed Tariq Fatmi.

The meetings were held in the backdrop of serious developments taking place on and across the borders of the country. The two services chiefs had discussion about the security and professional matters.

Officially no word has been given by the Prime Minister Office about discussions and decisions taken place in the meeting but the sources told ‘The News’ that go ahead signal had been given to the schedule for the dialogue process with TTP first through the designated committees and later with the committee of the TTP Shura.

The maiden direct talks with the TTP Shura delegation took place last month in the absence of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from the country and the second round would likely to be held in his absence as the prime minister would leave for China next week to attend the economic forum in Boao.

The focus of the meeting was peace talks but other matters related to internal and external security also cropped up in the course of discussion. The meeting was informed that the movement points on the international border with Afghanistan had been sealed in view of the Presidential polls in Afghanistan today (Saturday).

The announcement made by the TTP for extending the ceasefire for a period of another ten days also discussed in the meeting which was briefed about the TTP activities during the recent days as the militants were engaged in regrouping but their activities were being monitored by the agencies concerned.

The meeting also discussed the issue of release of detainees belonging to Tribal areas last week and it was made clear that no combatant prisoner would be released without complete understanding of all the stakeholders and it would be ensured that the released prisoners would not engage in terror activities.

The meeting was briefed about arrangements put in place for strict vigilance on the borders with Afghanistan to avert any untoward situation, the sources said.Meanwhile, sources didn’t give any hint about discussion in the meeting with regard to the matter related to former president General (R) Pervez Musharraf.

Special Assistant to PM on Foreign Affairs Syed Tariq Fatimi told this scribe that the high profile visit of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to China next week also came under discussion as the prime minister would have important meetings with Chinese leadership and the leaders of other countries attending the forum.

No extension in ceasefire, war to start again: TTP commander

ISLAMABAD: The proscribed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander in Mohmand Agency, Khalid Omar Khorasani Wednesday said the TTP has not announced an extension in the ceasefire and that the war will start again.

In a statement, Khalid Khorasani claimed that the government had breached its promise during the period of ceasefire and held the state, military and political parties responsible for ‘the losses suffered’.

He said all the influential sections of the society are in favor of the persistence of war.

On Pakistan cricket team’s recent defeat against West Indies in World Twenty20, he said ‘Allah has always let this nation cry without a break’

TTP factions divided over ceasefire extension

PESHAWAR: After a series of meetings, the Taliban Shura did not agree to an extension in the one-month-long ceasefire that ended on March 31. However, some of them say they would like to continue the peace talks with the government even if there was no formal ceasefire in place.
On the other hand, a feared militant commander, the head of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Mohmand Agency, Omar Khalid Khurasani, said his faction would not extend the ceasefire and also threatened to launch attacks against the government. Taliban sources said representatives of various factions of the TTP had been holding meetings for the past few days but could not build a consensus on an extension in the ceasefire.

The Taliban had announced a one-month-long ceasefire in fighting against the government on March 1.According to sources, the Taliban factions were divided over an extension in the ceasefire as some of them pointed out that they weren’t happy with the steps the government had taken to-date.

The TTP spokesman, Shahidullah Shahid, said the process of consultation over an extension in the ceasefire was still going on but till now they could not build a consensus. He said the majority of members of the TTP had reservations over the failure of the government to fulfil its commitment made during the recent rounds of peace talks.

Shahidullah Shahid said they had given a list of 800 civilian prisoners to the government as a test case as they wanted to see how serious and sincere the government was towards the peace process. But, he said, not a single prisoner had been freed so far.

“We were expecting the government would free our civilian prisoners from jails. Instead, it violated the ceasefire and arrested 107 of our people during raids in different villages near Doaba in Hangu district. Besides, three of our men were killed and their bodies dumped in Swat, Karak and Kohat. The bullet-riddled bodies of two of our men were recovered from to Swat while the body of one found in Kohat was from Orakzai Agency,” the TTP spokesman claimed.

Shahidullah Shahid argued that even if the ceasefire was not extended and if the government was serious, they could continue the peace process.Another senior member of the TTP noted that the government had benefited from the ceasefire and sent its security forces to new positions in the tribal areas, which, according to him, would have been difficult for it during normal days.

Pleading anonymity, he said the militant factions from Swat, Dir, Bajaur, Mohmand, Peshawar, etc, weren’t in favour of an extension in the ceasefire.Also, he disputed a statement of the government negotiations committee member Rustam Shah Mohmand that the Taliban had wished but not demanded the release of their prisoners during the peace talks.

“Rustam Shah sahib is a strange person. Wish is something different than demand. We have many wishes in our heart but it would require effort and hard struggle to fulfil any wish. We also wish to capture Islamabad and implement the Sharia there but would Rustam Shah sahib be able to help us,” the Taliban commander said.

Meanwhile, Omar Khalid Khurasani said they wouldn’t extend the ceasefire and would soon begin attacks in the country.

He said the government failed to accept their demands during the peace talks. “There would be more attacks in which common people would suffer as the government isn’t sincere in the peace talks,” he said.Meanwhile, TTP political Shura member Azam Tariq said the TTP spokesman’s statement about ceasefire was not valid as it was not approved by the Shura and media committee.