Surrender or declare yourself non-Muslims, Malik asks TTP

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Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Saturday asked “the terrorists” to lay down arms and give up bloodshed or else declare themselves non-Muslims, as Islam has no room for violence.

“Is this Islam? If not, then why do you not declare yourselves non-Muslims? We will have to end this hypocrisy,” the interior minister said while speaking in the National Assembly.

On the occasion of Eid Miladun Nabi, he reiterated his offer to the militants to give up violence and become “true Muslims”.

He said those who had been killed in Karachi and Quetta were also Muslims, and questioned the terrorists as on whose behest they were carrying out bloodshed.

 

TALIBAN INTERESTED IN TALKS:

 

On the other hand, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has shown eagerness in holding peace talks with the Pakistani government, saying the outfit was seeking “serious and powerful mediators” who could freely negotiate on behalf of the army.

Talking to rediff.com from an undisclosed location, TTP spokesperson Ihsanullah Ihsan said, “The government had made us an offer to come to the table for talks. We are serious about talking. But we will move after we see that our interlocutors are serious and the talks could be result oriented.”

He added, “We are ready for talks for the betterment of the Pakistani nation and for the sake of Islam. We have never rejected such offers in the past and we will never do so in the days ahead.”

The TTP spokesman though did not seem very optimistic about any settlement with the government in the future.

“Despite the attitude of the government which shows that it is not serious about the talks, we will initiate it on our part so that people later do not blame us for not coming to the negotiating table. We were made an offer, we responded and now we are awaiting the government’s reply,” he said.

Asked about whom the Taliban would like as mediators, he said, “We will negotiate through such negotiators who enjoy real power, who can make decisions and implement them. The negotiators will have to give us guarantees from the army’s side, not from the politicians’ side. The Pakistani army is superior to the government. So the middlemen will have to provide guarantees from the army side.”

2 COMMENTS

  1. Yea Mr Malik, you are the Man, if TTP is only listening to you that easy, they would have stopped long ago. Government role is enforce writ and punish the culprits not begging to them!

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