Tehreek-e-Taliban says Pakistan govt has 'no authority' to hold peace talks with it

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed the Pakistan Government does not have the authority to hold talks.

TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said if the group saw the elected government is able to control the intelligence agencies of Pakistan and is capable of taking independent decisions then the TTP could re-think holding peace talks with the government.

In an e-mail issued on Tuesday, Eshan said the TTP leadership considers Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Muhammad Omar as their supreme commander, and he has taken an oath of jihad on his hand.

According to the Daily Times, he also accused the media of carrying out a negative propaganda against the Taliban to spread mistrust among its members.

Commenting on the offer to resume peace talks with the newly elected Pakistani government led by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), he said the TTP is closely monitoring the policies and activities of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and PML-N in the Centre.

He said whenever the TTP and Pakistani government made progress on holding peace talks the Americans, with the ground support of Pakistani intelligence agencies, have repeatedly killed TTP leaders, the report said.

Eshan said in the recent past when the newly elected government and TTP planned to hold peace talks, one of its prominent leader, Waliur Rehman, was targeted by the US through drone strikes with the help of Pakistani intelligence agencies to sabotage the peace efforts.

He said that after the killing of Rehman, the Shura of TTP unanimously decided to suspend peace talks with the government.

He said that 80 percent of information for US drone strikes that target TTP leaders is provided by the intelligence agencies of Pakistan, the report added.