Peshawar, July 15 (NVI) The ongoing bloodshed and genocide in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is because of the “anti-Islam” and “dollar-hungry” Pakistan Army which has been engaging in oppression against the Pashtun people to destroy their culture and faith, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has said, adding that it is out to counter the “terrorist” military.
It said that for almost two decades, the Pasthuns have been “begging for peace by placing the bodies of innocent children, women and the elderly in front of those cruel and oppressive Generals but their (Pashtuns’) desire for peace has not been fulfilled, nor has the flow of bodies stopped.”
The TTP issued this statement in the context of military-backed peace committees called ‘Awami Pasoon’ recently going to some areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, ostensibly for the purpose of restoration of peace and order in the region.
“We want to make it clear to our people that the unrest and genocide in this region are not due to the Mujahideen (or as the media calls them “terrorists”), but it is due to the dollar-hungry (Pakistan) army,” said TTP in a statement issued by its spokesman Muhammad Khorasani.
“The Mujahideen have taken up arms against the enemy who attacked their religion, faith, honor and dignity. The oppressed fighting against the oppressor and destroying his evil intentions is not terrorism, but holy jihad,” it said.
Describing the Pakistan Army and the State as “terrorists”, it said the military is “waging a mercenary war to fulfill the objectives of the enemy (non-Muslims) fighting against Muslims in this region”, a veiled reference to the US.
The TTP said the Pakistani military is fighting “for the goals which the master of this evil (Pakistani military) had itself come for, but had to flee after facing reverses.” This is apparent reference to what happened to the US in Afghanistan.
“Those goals are to destroy the culture of the Pashtuns (especially the tribes), to destroy the religious zeal and spirit of faith within this nation (population) because of which the West could not establish its outdated system, nor could it control the resources here,” the statement said.
“The whole world has fallen into the grip of this system and the Pakistani army had put all the country’s resources in the lap of this cunning enemy,” it said.
“Today, once again, the West is using Pakistan’s slave army to achieve its goals for its nefarious purposes, and is further trying to control our minerals through this dollar-eating army,” it said.
“Therefore, we appeal to our nation that we are one in terms of religion, faith, belief and ideology. This distinction between us that ‘a Mujahid is one who is dying for religion and not a nation’ is completely wrong.
“Rather, we are the sons of the same nation that has died for the religion of Islam to this day… Therefore, we all have to fight this enemy together. In this, the distinction between the common people and Mujahid will be nothing but destruction for all of us,” the TTP said.
It invited “the entire Pashtun nation (and especially the tribes) to join well-wishers, your own sons, the Tehreek-e-Taliban, and fight against this anti-Islam, anti-national army and achieve salvation, so that your religion, faith, honor and dignity can be protected and peace and order can be restored and the occupation of our resources by others can be ended.” (NVI)
