ISLAMABAD: The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Tuesday ruled out the possibility of any talks with the Pakistani government, hours after the federal government decided to hold talks with the Taliban as the first option to eliminate terrorism from the country, while other options will be used as a last resort to wipe out terrorism.
The TTP said they had information that plans were already under way for a military operation, adding the insurgents were ready for battle.
“Like previous governments this one is a puppet of the United States. It’s powerless and dollar-hungry,” the TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid told a foreign news agency.
“They should happily launch a military operation against us. We have seen their military operations in the past and would like them to start this long-awaited operation,” the spokesman said.
Earlier in the day, a meeting of cabinet committee on national security was held in Islamabad with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the chair that deliberated upon the government’s strategy to engage various groups of Pakistani Taliban to address issues of extremism and militancy.
The committee reaffirmed government’s commitment to the strategy of negotiations with the TTP and considered the use of other options only as a last resort.
