Pakistan: Pakistan government’s warning to terrorist organization TTP, said- talks will not happen without surrender

Pakistan has rejected the proposal of banned terrorist organization Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to resume talks.

The Express Tribune newspaper quoted sources as saying that the TTP had expressed willingness to re-engage in talks in recent days, but the government rejected the offer and instead asked the terrorists to surrender.

There had been talks between the two sides earlier as well

The Pakistan government held talks with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan last year at the request of the Afghan Taliban government in Kabul. A ceasefire was also announced in talks between the two sides.

TTP intensified attacks on security forces

However, the TTP unilaterally ended the ceasefire in November last year, days before the appointment of General Asim Munir as Pakistan’s new army chief. The TTP subsequently intensified attacks on police, security personnel and government installations, with a special emphasis on the southern districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Pakistan rejected the offer of talks

A senior government official said that Afghanistan’s acting Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani was the mediator during the last round of talks. However, he did not act as a guarantor in those discussions. The senior official told the newspaper that we need concrete guarantees. So when it was offered it was rejected outright.

Pakistan warns TTP

The official said that the Pakistani authorities have clearly told the Islamic terrorist organization to surrender. The Express Tribune reported on Monday that Pakistan had told the interim Afghan government that it could consider talks with the TTP only if the militant outfit surrenders and lays down its arms.

Shahbaz government held Imran Khan’s party responsible

The current coalition government has blamed the talks between the then ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government and the TTP for the rising cases of terrorism in the country since assuming power. The Government of Pakistan is urging the Taliban to act against the TTP. As part of this effort, the Taliban have detained or deported several TTP leaders.

Pakistani ministers raised this issue during their visit to Afghanistan

The recent Kabul visits of Defense Minister Khawaja Asif and Minister of State for External Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar were also linked to this issue. The matter also came up during the visit of the Foreign Minister of Afghanistan to Pakistan. The senior official stressed that the Afghan Taliban would not use force against the TTP, and that Pakistan had no intention of entering Afghanistan to destroy TTP targets.