Dialogue with TTP: Taliban may use opportunity to reorganise themselves, warns Malik

ISLAMABAD: Former interior minister and Chairman Institute of Research and Reforms (IRR) Senator Rehman Malik, has said that there should be no compromise on the integrity, sovereignty of the country and constitution and law of Pakistan while considering general amnesty to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

“Pakistani Taliban have never abide by the agreements they made in the past but instead took advantage to gain time to strengthen themselves,” he said while talking with The News on Saturday.

Former interior minister demanded the TTP to surrender their weapons in Nooristan in Afghanistan to the Afghan Taliban, during talks with Pakistan and also announce dissociation with Daesh. He said giving amnesty to extremists renouncing violent ideologies and announcing to abide by the constitution and law of Pakistan is a good initiative but TTP has always used the dialogue to re-energize itself, and the “government must be careful about this,” he said. The former minister said peace talks with the TTP were held several times during his tenure also, but they were fruitful because the Taliban continued with their operations, so this time around government should not rely on their ceasefire announcements. The TTP must be planning to continue terrorism by keeping Pakistan engaged in talks, he cautioned.

He also demanded a truth and reconciliation commission to examine the whole Taliban saga. “The killers of our 80,000 troops and civilians shall never be forgiven and details of Army Public School (APS) carnage and attack on Malala Yousefzai shall be demanded from TTP,” he said. He said that the government should also demand handing over of Ikramullah, the suicide bomber who survived the attack on Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed from TTP.

During the last 20 years, he said the TTP targeted sensitive installations across the country including GHQ and PNS Mehran and it is important to investigate TTP's motives behind them. He said that in various incidents of terrorism, TTP attacked hundreds of mosques, shrines, bazaars, parks, churches, Imambargahs and even hospitals across the country, killings thousands of innocent people whose blood shall not go waste, he added. Malik said that the innocent people including personnel of Pakistan Army, police, law enforcement officers have been martyred by TTP, and if the brutal killers are forgiven then the souls and families of the martyrs will never forgive us.