The commander of newly formed group, Tehreek-e-Taliban Islami Pakistan, Fazl Saeed Haqqani on Tuesday announced holding peace talks with the government.
Talking to reporters from tribal region, Saeed said their group was only against the policies of the government otherwise “we are also Pakistanis and Pakistan is our beloved country”. “The security of the country is obligatory upon us all,” he said, adding that no one would be allowed to target government installations. The commander said for perpetual peace in the region it was necessary to call Loya Jirga, adding that schools, colleges and security forces will never be attacked by his fighters. “We are not against the state of Pakistan rather we are against the government policies,” Haqqani said. Saeed was nominated by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Hakimullah Mehsud as the commander of Kurram Agency earlier and due to unknown reasons he announced disassociation from the TTP.
Hakimullah had sent his fighters to Kurram Agency to besiege Fazl but no progress has been reported because TTP claimed that Fazl was enjoying the support of armed forces in the region.