Peshawar, July 2 (NVI) The “occupying” Pakistan Army and “the greedy Generals who control the mineral reserves in the entire tribal region” of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are “badly trapped and are constantly being defeated by the Mujahideen”, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) said today amidst its ongoing ‘Operation Al Khandaq’.
The TTP, or the Pakistani Taliban, have been waging a war against the Pakistani military since November 2023 and intensified the campaign by launching ‘Operation Al Khandaq’ in March this year, under which thousands of its militia have spread out across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province to target the security installations and personnel.
The organisation also blasted the Pakistani military for targeting the civilian population with mortars and quadcopters recently, especially in North Waziristan, rekindling the memories of 2014.
“As you know, the Mujahideen of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan have been present in the outskirts of Orakzai and Karak for a long time, and these Mujahideen also belong to these same areas, namely Orakzai and Karak,” said the statement issued by TTP spokesman Mohammad Khorasani.
He said the Pakistani military has been suffering badly in conflict with the TTP and “To cover up for their failure and shame, the security agencies have been trying for the past few days to rally the people of Orakzai and Karak against the Mujahideen in the name of ‘Lashkar’ or ‘Peace Committees’, while they themselves remain spectators behind the scenes.”
The TTP spokesman appealed to “the proud people of Orakzai and Karak” not to “fall for these tricks of the security agencies”.
He asked the people of Orakzai and Karak to bluntly tell “these (military) institutions, which devour 3.67 trillion rupees from the national treasury every year in the name of ‘protecting the people’, to fulfill their responsibilities themselves.”
Khorasani said it was unfortunate that some individuals are “seen as instrumentalists of the army and taking the lead in a campaign of massacre”.
He warned them, saying they should “avoid becoming the fuel of this war” which is mainly between the TTP and the Pakistani military.
In a separate statement, the TTP spokesman referred to the situation in North Waziristan, saying the Pakistani military has “once again rekindled memories of the past” by storming the area, “targeting the civilian population with mortars and quadcopters, imposing curfew and sending out messages to the public to evacuate their homes.”
He said the situation was similar to the one witnessed in 2014.
“The important thing in all this is that the army has called on the public to take up arms against the Mujahideen,” Khorasani said.
“We want to make it clear once again that our war is only against the army that is simultaneously holding guns against all civil institutions, ordinary citizens, and those who call Islam. That is why we have also pardoned the former peace committee officials and various types of enemies, so that the public stays away from the war. But it is this army that is trying to push the public into war once again,” he said.
“Similarly, there are reports that the Pakistan Army is trying to put the police in the frontline of the war,” he said.
Reiterating the TTP’s warning, the spokesman said, “Even before this, we have repeatedly sent messages to the police, asking them to withdraw from this war and go in search of ‘halal’ livelihood without making themselves fuel (cannon fodder) of the war between us and the army.”
He stressed that common people will not be harmed by the TTP, “provided that they refrain from taking up arms…. (But) God forbid, if this happens, it will also put to shame the long-standing desire of the people of Waziristan for peace and this cruel and oppressive army will succeed in its attempt and sit back and watch the civil war.” (NVI)
