Peshawar, Aug 24 (NVI) Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) today termed as “baseless” and “misleading” the claims made by the Pakistan government that the Islamist outfit has bases in Afghanistan and revealed that it has formations and thousands of local fighters at 36 locations across Pakistan, Pakistan-occupied Jammu Kashmir and Gilgit and Balochistan.
Responding to the claim made by a Pakistani representative at the United Nations recently that TTP was using the territory of Afghanistan for launching attacks in Pakistan, the outfit said the global body should conduct an impartial investigation into Islamabad’s allegations, which are made only to extract billions of dollars from foreign countries and international organisations.
“We do not need to use the land of any neighboring country (including Afghanistan) to continue this holy struggle, because in our beloved homeland we have everything available to us, thanks to which we can continue our resistance in a good way,” said a TTP statement issued by its spokesman Muhammad Khorasani.
He maintained that the Pakistani State uses the huge funds obtained under the pretext of fighting “terrorism” to carry out atrocities and oppression against the Pashtuns and the Baloch people.
“For quite some time, Pakistani state institutions have been continuously propagating this propaganda at the national and international levels that Pakistani Mujahideen use Afghan soil to carry out operations in Pakistan and then return to Afghanistan,” Khorasani said.
“But the people of Pakistan and other awakened people of the world (who have been witnessing the cunning deceit of Pakistani institutions for decades) understand how baseless this propaganda is,” he said.
The TTP spokesman noted that the Pakistani state received immense financial support from the United States under the pretext of maintaining territorial integrity, stability and “other such false promises”.
Using these funds, Pakistan has erected a 12-foot high and 5-foot wide strong fence on the 2700-kilometer Durand Line imaginary border (between Pakistan and Afghanistan), the gaps of which have been filled with barbed wire, he said.
In addition, a stable check post has been established at a distance of every 200 to 300 meters, which has not only been connected to a wireless system but also has a strong patrolling system, Khorasani said.
Besides, a systematic network of roads has been laid across the entire Durand Line, and a large military camp has also been built behind every 10 to 15 posts, where thousands of soldiers and paramilitary personnel are stationed, he added.
Similarly, thermal cameras have been installed around each check post through which surveillance can be carried out at a great distance even in the dark of night, he said.
To keep the Pakistani soldiers alert and awake, modern automatic lights and sensor systems have been installed across the Durand Line, which automatically flash their lights and sound sirens when any living creature comes near, the TTP spokesman said.
In addition to this, more than 800 small and large drones have been allocated for border surveillance, he said.
“With the above-mentioned strict security arrangements, it is beyond comprehension that the Mujahideen of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan come from Afghanistan to Pakistan for operations,” he said.
“The purpose of these baseless allegations is nothing more than a misleading attempt to obtain military and political cooperation at the global level and to hide our weakness and defeat in the face of the popular movement that has emerged from within the Pakistani nation,” the TTP spokesman said.
He pointed out that many political leaders of Pakistan have repeatedly expressed that TTP occupies the markets, intersections and roads in Dera Jat at night and the police stations and check posts remain empty.
This proves that TTP fighters are permanently present in areas hundreds of miles away from the imaginary Durand Line border, he added.
Also, the jirgas that have been held with tribal people in recent days hav been held on the Pakistani soil, some of which have also received media coverage such as the jirga of the “Qambar Khel” tribe of the Afridi nation, he pointed out.
The spokesman revealed that the TTP has set up “organized formations at 36 locations from Gilgit to Balochistan, and Hazara to Punjab and Karachi, where there are thousands of armed Mujahideen of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, who are local residents and have joined Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan to achieve their Muslim rights as a result of the wrong policies of the state and the cruel attitudes of the establishment, which is still ongoing.”
“We strongly demand from the United Nations and all the world powers, which believe in the facts, to conduct an impartial investigation into the claim of the representative of Pakistan through an impartial and fact-based investigation team,” the TTP spokesman said.
He also demanded that the UN and other international institutions should “never provide the military and security institutions of Pakistan with the opportunity to once again use the political and security benefits of the world powers based on misleading information.
“And once again in the name of terrorism, (not let them) demolish the homes of their own people (thousands of whose youth have been disappeared by these oppressors because of their demand for legitimate rights) under the pretext of operations, and once again make the Pashtun and Baloch people disappear, sacrifice the rights of the people for their personal interests, and neutralize the voices of the oppressed.”
“We also consider it necessary to clarify here that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan came into existence due to the wrong policies and immense atrocities of the state of Pakistan and it will continue its holy struggle against the oppressive and usurping institutions on the soil of Pakistan with the cooperation and help of its own people until the oppression is ended and all the inhabitants get their inalienable rights,” the spokesman declared. (NVI)
