File Photo. Aref Karimi—AFP
The banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Wednesday announced it is “considering” targeting senior leaders of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) if they do not cease their statements against the militant group.
In a statement, the militant group warned it would target the senior leaders of the two political parties if they “remained firm on their position and continued to be slaves of the Army.” Advising the public to avoid “getting close” to the leaders of both parties, the militant group claimed that it had not taken action against any political party “for some time” and its primary target was security forces who were “taking anti-national steps at the behest of the West.”
However, it said, “for some reason the incumbent government appears to be under the spell of America,” with Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari “openly declaring war” on the TTP by giving “the U.S. the status of a mother to quench the thirst of his mother’s love.” As Bhutto-Zardari is still “young,” it continued, he has “not witnessed a state of war.”
On the other hand, it said, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has “pushed his whole party” into conflict by “going against the TTP for the sake of pleasing the U.S.”
As a consequence, read the statement, the TTP is considering concrete steps against the “imposed government” of the PMLN and PPP.
The banned group also appealed to religious leaders in its statement, claiming that they were under no threat from its militancy. “However, it is requested that you remain apart from any actions against us,” it said, as this would be a “victory” for false powers.
The TTP’s latest statement evokes its remarks from 2013—the peak of Pakistan’s war on terror—when the group had targeted the PPP, damaging its prospects in the general elections, and paving the way for the PMLN. It has noticeably not mentioned the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf—ruling over Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province—suggesting it has no qualms about working with the party. This has been validated in recent remarks by PTI leaders, who maintain that Imran Khan is the only Pakistani leader “respected” by the militants.
Earlier this week, Bhutto-Zardari said the incumbent government would not continue a policy of appeasement with the TTP, stressing that there could be no negotiations with terrorists. Similarly, while chairing a meeting of the National Security Committee, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif resolved to eradicate terrorism from Pakistan, with no compromise for anyone threatening the state’s writ. On Tuesday, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah also vowed that there would be no more talks with the TTP.
These steps were triggered by the TTP ending a ceasefire it inked with the government in 2021 and urging its fighters to target security forces “wherever you can.” Subsequently, there has been a visible resurgence of terrorism across Pakistan, especially Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, with bombings and gun-fights martyring several soldiers in the past two months.