Taliban Threatens to Unleash Suicide Bombers Against Pak Army

As the Pakistan government is making a heavy weather of the fight against the armed Taliban, Tehrik-e-Taliban Swat chief Maulana Fazalullah has threatened to unleash suicide bombers against the army if any operation is launched against his men.

“We are determined to continue our efforts for Islamisation not only in Swat and Pakistan, but also throughout the world,” declared Maulana Fazalullah while talking to a group of media men in Taraan near Kabal town of Swat district.

Already the present government has been warned by its coalition partners that Pakistan could lose its restive North West Frontier Province (NWFP) altogether to the ruthless Taliban militants. It is situated on the borders of Afghanistan where the international coalition seems to be fighting an increasingly losing battle.

Following the footsteps of his group’s central leader Baitullah Mehsud, who had recently invited media men from all over the country to his stronghold of Spinkai Raghzai in South Waziristan, Maulana Fazalullah also appeared before media in the mountainous region, Nation newspaper reports.

Maulana Fazalullah, surrounded by a number of armed and masked militants, appeared before the media in Government Primary School Taraan, which is under the control of the militants. Almost all the people from surrounding areas have already migrated to other places and no one from the area is allowed to go inside the school. The whole of the region is under the control of the militants.

The media men had to go by foot to Taraan beyond Shah Dheri and Dewlai towns for listening to Maulana Fazalullah. They had to walk through rough mountainous areas for around three hours.

In his preliminary statement, Maulana Fazalullah despite declaring May 21, 2008 peace agreement with North West Frontier Province government as in tact, deplored over the failure of the provincial government in implementing the agreement. “The NWFP government has failed to honour all the clauses of the agreement and further talks and dialogues with it are meaningless,” he alleged.

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He said that NWFP government had failed to pull out troops from the region, abolish the checkposts and release the arrested Taliban activists. He also claimed that NWFP government was helpless and powerless in implementing the peace accord, therefore, there was no need for further talks with the NWFP government.

Holding the armed forces responsible for the ongoing violence and terror in Swat region, Maulana Fazalullah said, “There was peace in all over Swat before the deployment of the armed forces.” In this respect, he called for immediate withdrawal of the troops from the area.

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While answering a question, Maulana Fazalullah confirmed that they suspended talks with the NWFP government in accordance to the directives of TTP central chief Baitullah Mehsud. Like his leader, Maulana Fazalullah also alleged that the federal government was following the policies of the United States and added simultaneously, “We are ready for dialogues and negotiations with the federal government.”

In response to another question, Maulana Fazalullah termed the blowing-up of government girls’ schools as reaction to the military operation. However, he added, “We are not involved in blowing up of girls schools, markets and shops. Our friends and like-minded people are involved in the recent acts of violence in Swat.”

He would only say that that he couldn’t stop his friends from carrying out such attacks.

Source-Medindia
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