Pakistan says not holding any talks with TTP

Islamabad : Pakistan’s Foreign Office on Thursday stated that Pakistan was not engaged in any talks with the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), local media reported.

The statement from Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch comes days after Taliban Information Minister Zabihullah Mujahid offered to mediate between the TTP and Pakistan due to escalating tensions, particularly after the former terminated a ceasefire last year, Dawn reported.

“If Pakistan wants us to mediate, and we know that it is beneficial, we will undoubtedly mediate as it benefits the region and we don’t want war in the region,” Tolo News quoted Mujahid as saying.

The Afghan minister had also denied the presence of TTP in Afghanistan and reiterated that the Islamic Emirate is committed to preventing the use of Afghan soil as a launchpad for attacks on other nations, Dawn reported.

At a press briefing, the FO spokesperson referred to a previous statement made by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, emphasising the clarity of the minister’s position on this matter.

Bilawal had in January this year said that Pakistan’s leadership will not hold talks with terrorist organisations that don’t respect the country’s laws and the Constitution, adding that the former government adopted an appeasement policy towards the TTP, Dawn reported.

“The new leadership in Pakistan, both political and military, has been absolutely clear. There will be no talks with terrorist organisations that don’t respect our laws and Constitution,” he had said in a wide-ranging interview with ‘The Washington Post’ in Davos, Switzerland.

In April, the Pakistan Army’s spokesperson had also distanced the military from the previous government’s initiative of holding dialogue with the TTP.

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Maj-Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry had said that the relationship between the army and the terrorists was only of “kinetic operations”, which would continue until the eradication of terrorism, Dawn reported.