Express News 24/7 correspondent reported that TTP’s Maulvi Faqir Muhammed, deputy commander and commander-in-chief Bajaur, said that his group believes in peace and is ready for direct talks with the government, conditionally without any intermediaries.
Faqir also said that TTP did not want Khyber Pakhtunkhwa information minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain to be a part of the talks, without stating a particular reason.
He added that his group does not have any agenda against Pakistan, but only wanted imposition of Islamic law in the country.
Faqir also asked the government to revisit its relations with the US.
Earlier, at an All Parties Conference (APC) the nation’s top political and military leadership decided to hold peace talks with all militant groups, apparently including the TTP.
The TTP has been involved in a series of attacks in Pakistan since its formation in 2007 under Baitullah Mehsud. A FATA based militant outfit formed through the merging of different militant groups.
Recently, the group took responsibility for a suicide attack on CID top cop SSP Aslam since he had played a pivotal role in several arrests of TTP commanders in Karachi. They were also involved in the attack on PNS Mehran in May this year. and other security installations including the Frontier Constabulary training centre in Charsadda.
After Osama bin Laden’s killing in a US Navy SEALs operation in Abbottabad, TTP threatened attacks against Western targets, saying “Our first enemy is Pakistan, then the US and after that, other Nato countries. Osama was our leader and America is the biggest terrorist.”
The following is a timeline of a score of deadly attacks orchestrated by the TTP:
October 10, 2009: Ten terrorists dressed in army uniforms attacked the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, resulting in the death of six army personnel. A Brigadier and a Lieutenant Colonel were among those killed in the attack claimed by the TTP.
December 4, 2009: At least 36 people were killed and 83 injured when six suicide bombers opened fire and hurled grenades at worshippers gathered inside the Parade Lane Mosque off Peshawar Road in Rawalpindi. All six suicide bombers were believed to have blown themselves up during the attack. The dead included a brigadier, a colonel, two lieutenant colonels, two majors, three soldiers and 17 children. The TTP had claimed the attack on the mosque.
April 3, 2011: A double suicide bomb attack outside a shrine in Punjab kills 50 people.
April 26, 2011: Twin blasts targeted two Pakistan Navy buses carrying officials in Karachi. The blast resulted in the death of four and 56 others were injured. The TTP once again claimed these attacks.
April 28, 2011: A bomb ripped through a Pakistan Navy bus near PNS Karsaz, resulting in the death of five people and injuring 13 others. TTP spokesman claimed the attack which killed four navy personnel.
May 20, 2011: The TTP attacked a US consulate convoy in an upscale neighbourhood of Peshawar, killing a passerby and wounding a dozen others.
May 21, 2011: A Taliban bomb attack on a Nato fuel tanker sparked an explosion that killed 15 people. The group has been involved is several such attacks on Nato supply vehicles in the Khyber Agency.
September 7, 2011: At least 26 people were killed and over 60 injured in two suicide attacks targeting the residence of the deputy chief of the paramilitary force responsible for the recent capture of three senior al Qaeda operatives in Quetta.
The TTP has also attacked schools and children in the area, including a recent ambush on a school bus on September 13, 2011, killing four pupils and the driver in a hail of bullets and rocket fire in Peshawar’s suburban Mattani area.
