-Hina Khar to visit Kabul to hold political dialogue with Afghan Taliban today
-FO says Bilateral relations including matters related to regional security will be discussed
By Anzal Amin
ISLAMABAD/PESHAWAR: The Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Monday called off the ceasefire agreed with the government in June and ordered its militants to stage attacks across the country, according to a statement from the group.
“As military operations are ongoing against mujahideen in different areas so it is imperative for you to carry out attacks wherever you can in the entire country,” the statement said while addressing its militants.
The decision, it stated, was taken after “a series of non-stop attacks were launched by the military organizations in Bannu’s Lakki Marwat district”.
The banned group said it had repeatedly warned the people of Pakistan and “continued to be patient so that the negotiation process is not sabotaged at least by us.” “But the army and intelligence agencies did not stop and continued the attacks now our retaliatory attacks will also start across the country,” the statement claimed.
The government and intelligence agencies are yet to comment on the matter. Talks between Pakistani officials and the militant outfit first started in October last year but broke down in December.
These later resumed in May this year. The process, however, broke down once again due to a deadlock on the revocation of the merger of erstwhile tribal areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Subsequently, attacks by the TTP have been on the rise since September after the group’s ceasefire with the army ended. Most of the attacks have happened in and around Dera Ismail Khan, Tank, South Waziristan, and North Waziristan districts in KP.
In October, the Ministry of Interior had warned that more than year-long peace negotiations between the TTP and the government of Pakistan “had come to a standstill”, which had led to unease within the TTP’s ranks.
It had noted that the TTP accuses the Pakistani government of failing to fulfill its main demand — the reversal of the merger of former Fata with KP — as well as continuing to detain TTP members while a truce was still being negotiated.
The ministry had also highlighted the risk of TTP sub-groups defecting to the militant Islamic State (ISKP) or joining hands with the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group to resume terrorist activities. Meanwhile, in a press conference earlier this month, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had called for the government to revisit its strategy to deal with the militant outfit.
“It is time to review decisions we took or we were made to take with regards to internal security and terrorism,” he had said. Bilawal had also maintained that there was nothing wrong in admitting that “we were wrong about a few things and right about some other things and re-examine our approach”.
On the other hand, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar scheduled to lead a delegation to Kabul for a day-long visit today (Tuesday) to hold political dialogue with Afghan Taliban-led interim government.
Bilateral relations, including cooperation in the areas of education, trade and investment, regional connectivity, people-to-people contacts and matters related to regional security will be discussed, the Foreign Office said in a statement on Monday.
The state minister will also reaffirm Pakistan’s continued commitment and support for all efforts aimed at strengthening peace and enhancing prosperity in Afghanistan, it added.
“As a friend and neighbour of Afghanistan, Pakistan will reaffirm its abiding solidarity with the people of Afghanistan, in particular through its efforts to ease the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and to create real opportunities for economic prosperity of Afghan men, women and children,” read the communiqué.
Earlier this month, Pakistan, in an unusual move, had given a damning assessment of the Afghan Taliban regime’s 16 months in power, saying the interim government has done little to form inclusive government, protect the rights of women and eradicate terrorist groups.
The lack of progress, Pakistan notes, means that the critical support needed by Afghanistan to deal with the humanitarian and economic crises and other challenges has faltered.
The assessment was shared by Pakistan’s special envoy on Afghanistan Ambassador Muhammad Sadiq during a meeting of Afghanistan’s neighbours and others held in Moscow on November 16.
The 4th meeting of the Moscow Forma was held in the Russian capital with participation from Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Iran, Pakistan, China, Turkmenistan, India, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan at the level of Special Representatives/Envoys on Afghanistan.
Ambassador Sadiq in his address took an unusually harsh stance against the Afghan Taliban government, highlighting Pakistan’s frustration over the lack of progress on certain issues.
“Pakistan is a firm adherent to the primacy of a regional approach to the situation in Afghanistan. We believe that the Moscow Format advances this goal by bringing together the regional countries in a process of meaningful dialogue and engagement on Afghanistan,” he said. -Agencies
