Pakistan Taliban issues threat to Shehbaz Sharif, Bilawal Bhutto

ISLAMABAD: The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Wednesday announced that it is considering taking concrete steps against the two major parties of the ruling coalition - the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), according to a media report.

A statement issued by the TTP said that "if these two parties remain firm on their position and continue to be slaves of the army, action will be taken against their leading people", The Express Tribune reported. "People should avoid getting close to such leading people," added the statement.

The TTP claimed that the whole world is aware that the "Jihadi field of TTP is only Pakistan and our target is the security agencies occupying the country", the report said.

It added that it has not taken action against any political party for a long time, but "unfortunately... [Foreign Minister] Bilawal Bhutto Zardari gave the United States the status of mother to quench the thirst of his mother's love", adding that by doing so, "he openly declared war against TTP".

"Although Bilawal sir is still young, this poor man has not yet witnessed the state of war," the statement added, The Express Tribune reported.

The TTP added that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has also "pushed the whole party into this war going against TTP for the sake of pleasing the US".

Without taking any names, the TTP also gave a message to the religious leadership and said that there is no scope for action against them in TTP's policy, "but we also request you to refrain from activities against us".

The statement by TTP came just a day after Bilawal Bhutto had said that in a reversal of the policy adopted by the previous Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government of hilding talks with the outlawed group, the coalition government would quit "the policy of appeasement" of terrorists.

He also drew a distinction between the Taliban in Afghanistan and the TTP, saying that the former is a "reality" with "a history" of existence, while the latter is nothing but a terrorist organisation, The Express Tribune reported. (IANS)