The Government of Pakistan has ruled out further contacts with the armed group Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), known as the Pakistani Taliban, following its decision to break the ceasefire and resume its attacks in the Central Asian country.
The Pakistani Interior Minister, Rana Sanaullah, indicated in an interview with Samaa TV that the decision was taken jointly by the government and the new army chief, Asim Munir.
He also stated that the group does not control territories in Pakistan and affirmed that the security forces have launched several operations to deal with the threat, before promising that the situation will be stabilized «soon».
Earlier on Tuesday, two members of the Counter-Terrorism Department were killed after being shot at in Janeual, in the southeastern Punjab province, an attack that was condemned by the minister. For the moment no group has claimed responsibility.
Pakistan’s National Counter-Terrorism Authority recently claimed that the TTP group expanded its networks during peace talks with the government and added that the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan allowed it to increase its activities in the neighboring country.
The situation has prompted Pakistan to call on the Afghan Taliban, who mediated during contacts for a possible peace deal, to address the upsurge in TTP activities. Islamabad has even threatened cross-border operations, something firmly rejected by Kabul.
The TTP, which differs from the Afghan Taliban in organizational matters but follows the same rigorist interpretation of Sunni Islam, brings together more than a dozen Islamist militant groups operating in Pakistan, where they have killed some 70,000 people in two decades of violence.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
