ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan told an international media organization on Friday his administration was negotiating with some factions of the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant network, adding he was not in favor of military solution as a politician.
President Arif Alvi and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi announced last month the government was willing to offer amnesty to TTP members if they laid down their arms, abandoned extremist ideology and adhered to the country’s constitution.
However, the militant network issued a statement in response, saying it was proud of its “struggle” while adding that its members were not seeking forgiveness from anyone.
“The Pakistan Taliban groups actually want to talk to our government for some peace and reconciliation,” the prime minister told an international news channel. “And we are in talks with some of the groups.”
Asked if the Afghan Taliban were facilitating the dialogue process, he simply responded that the talks were taking place in Afghanistan.
Khan said his government was willing to forgive members of the proscribed network once they laid down their arms.
“They will become normal citizens,” he continued.
The prime minister was hopeful a deal was likely to come out of the negotiation process, though it was not clear from a brief interview excerpt shared on the social media who was leading the talks from the Pakistani side, what were the TTP demands, and how soon was a breakthrough expected.
“I do not believe in military solutions,” Khan added. “I always believe as a politician that political dialogue is the way ahead which I always thought was the case with Afghanistan.”
TTP, a conglomerate of several armed factions, was banned soon after its emergence in Pakistan’s tribal areas in 2007 since it started killing Pakistani civilians and security forces.
Inspired by Al Qaeda ideology, it targeted the army headquarters in Rawalpindi and massacred more than 100 children at a school in Peshawar.
The network also took responsibility for shooting Malala Yousafzai, who later became the world’s youngest Nobel laureate, in her hometown, Swat, for advocating girls’ education.
Asked why the TTP was attacking the Pakistani security forces while negotiating with the government to secure a settlement, Khan said: “I think it was just a spate of attacks, but we are talking. [However,] we might not reach some sort of a conclusion.”
PM says government negotiating with Pakistani Taliban as militants continue attacks
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PM says government negotiating with Pakistani Taliban as militants continue attacks
- The prime minister tells an international news channel TTP militants will become ‘normal citizens’ after laying down arms
- Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan said in a statement last month it was proud of its ‘struggle’ and was not seeking forgiveness from anyone
Pakistan has ruled out military operation in northwestern Tirah Valley
- Residents in northwestern Tirah Valley fled their homes this month fearing a military operation against militants
- Defense minister says army conducting intelligence-based operations in area, residents’ migration “routine” practice
Islamabad: Defense Minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday clarified that the military was not conducting a military operation in the northwestern Tirah Valley, saying that the ongoing residents’ migration from the area was a routine practice that has been going on for several years.
The defense minister’s clarification came as residents of Tirah Valley in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province bordering Afghanistan fled their homes this month, fearing a planned military operation by the army against militants, particularly the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group.
Pakistan’s information ministry on Sunday issued a clarification that the armed forces were not involved in the “depopulation” of the valley. It pointed to a notification from the provincial Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Relief, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Department in December which demanded the release of funds, reportedly Rs4 billion [$14.24 million], for the voluntary movement of people from Tirah Valley.
Speaking to reporters at a news conference alongside Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and Special Assistant to the PM for Information and KP Affairs Ikhtiar Wali Khan, Asif said the last military operation in the area was conducted several years ago. He said the military had decided that intelligence-based operations (IBOs) were more effective than military operations as they resulted in lower civilian casualties.
“So over a long period of time, the army gave up [military] operation in favor of IBOs,” Asif said. “For many years this practice has been continuing. Hence, there is no question of an operation there.”
The defense minister described the migration of residents from Tirah Valley as a “routine” practice due to the harsh cold.
He criticized the provincial government, led by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party for not serving the people of the area, accusing it of not building any schools, hospitals, or police stations in Tirah Valley.
Asif said around 400-500 TTP members lived in the valley with their families, alleging that hemp was being harvested there on over 12,000 acres of land. He said that while hemp is also used for medicinal and construction purposes, its dividends were going to militants and politicians.
“All of this hemp is harvested there and the dividends from it either go to the people associated with politics or the TTP,” the minister said.
“We have initiated the process to stop this so that the people benefit from this harvest and so that schools and hospitals are constructed there.”
The minister said that a district-level jirga or tribal council met representatives of the KP government on Dec. 11, 24 and 31 to decide matters related to the residents’ migration in the area.
Holding up the KP Relief, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Department notification, Asif said:
“In the presence of this notification, in the presence of this tribal council and in the presence of all of these things, where do you see the army?“
The minister accused the provincial government of deflecting its “failures” in the province to the armed forces or to a military operation that did not exist.
The migration has exposed tensions between the provincial government and the military establishment over the use of force in the region.
KP Law Minister Aftab Alam Afridi said earlier this month that the provincial government will not allow a military operation to take place in the area, arguing that past military campaigns had failed to deliver lasting stability.
