ISLAMABAD (Al Jazeera) – Armed group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has warned the country’s main ruling parties of “concrete action” against their top leadership in the government for “declaring war” against it.
A statement released by the TTP – also known as Pakistani Taliban for its ideological affinity with the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan – on Wednesday explicitly named Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
Sharif is the president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) which along with Bhutto Zardari’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) are the main coalition partners in the government.
“For a long time, TTP has not taken any action against political parties,” TTP spokesman Muhammad Khorasani said in the statement shared with Al Jazeera on WhatsApp.
“[But] if these two parties remain firm on their position … then action will be taken against the leaders of these parties. People should avoid going near them,” it said.
“[Our] target is Pakistan’s security forces who are acting against the country’s interest upon wishes of the West,” it added.
The TTP statement also included a note of caution for Pakistan’s religion-based political parties, urging them not to be a part of action against the group.
“The TTP policy does not include targeting your parties but we request you to avoid being part of any activity against us,” it said.
The TTP threat came two days after Pakistan’s top security body, the National Security Committee (NSC), announced its resolve to have “zero tolerance for terrorism” in Pakistan and “reaffirmed its determination to take on any and all entities that resort to violence”.
The NSC, which includes Sharif and newly appointed military chief General Asim Munir as its members, held a two-day meeting on December 30 and January 2 to assess the security situation in Pakistan.
The NSC meeting marked the end of a tumultuous 2022 which saw at least 150 attacks by the TTP across the country, killing dozens of people.
The TTP says it is fighting for the imposition of its hardline law and a reversal of the merger of Pakistan’s tribal areas with the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.