ISLAMABAD: The federal government has prepared a strategy against the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), sources said on Friday.
The sources said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has authorized the armed forces to conduct air and ground strikes targeting militants in response to their terrorist activities.
It is pertinent to mention that the prime minister gave the approval of the air strikes which were carried out on Wednesday night targeting suspected militant hideouts in various area of the North Waziristan tribal region. At least 35 militants including foreigners were killed and scores of others injured in the air strikes.
In a press conference in Islamabad on Thursday, the Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said that carrying on with peace talks with the Pakistani Taliban amid terrorist attacks throughout the country would be injustice to the victims of such attacks. He said that the prime minister and the military leadership do not intend to carry on with dialogue amid terrorist attacks.
KPK govt issues red alert for province
Meanwhile, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has issued red alert for the province and ordered police and law enforcement agencies to keep vigilant eye on Tribal areas & Afghan border areas.
TTP asks govt to announce ceasefire first
Earlier in the day, the TTP refused to announce a ceasefire, calling on the government to do so first.
The TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid told reports that a ceasefire cannot be announced as the government has been fighting against the Taliban.
“We have been waging war for several years,” Shahid said. “If the government cannot negotiate a ceasefire, how can talks be held with a handful of people.”
In an earlier statement, the TTP spokesman claimed that not a single clause in Pakistan’s constitution was Islamic. He said that the government wanted the Taliban to accept the constitution of Pakistan through the dialogue process.
