Selective targeting of political parties is Taliban Shura's decision: TTP spokesman

Published April 28, 2013
Men stand outside the campaign office of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) political party, after a bomb blast in Karachi.  — Photo by Reuters
Men stand outside the campaign office of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) political party, after a bomb blast in Karachi. — Photo by Reuters

PESHAWAR: Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesperson Eshsanullah Ehsan while talking to Dawn.com from an undisclosed location said on Sunday that selective targeting of the political parties and candidates was the decision and prerogative of the Taliban Shura.

Replying to a query about sparing the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) , Jamiat-i-Ulema Islam- Fazal (JUI-F) , Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) and Pakistan Muslim league - Nawaz (PML-N) who were also contesting elections within the same secular system, to which Taliban are opposed to, he said:

“Taliban shura had decided to target those secular political parties which were part of the previous coalition government and involved in the operation in Swat, Fata and other areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwah,”adding that “the organisation followed the instructions of the Taliban shura and that it was the shura that decided which political parties to target, where and when.”

To another query that the Taliban were making ground and paving way for some parties to win the elections and denying space to others, he said: “neither we are against nor in favour of the PTI, PML- N, JI and JUI-F,” adding that “We are against the secular and democratic system which is against the ideology of Islam but we are not expecting any good from the other parties either, who are the supporters of the same system, but why they are not targeted is our own prerogative to decide.”

About attacks on independent candidates , he claimed that all secular minds supporting and talking part in the elections would also be targeted.

Opinion

Editorial

Depopulating Gaza
Updated 07 Feb, 2025

Depopulating Gaza

The least feasible "solution" is the Trumpian plan for Gaza’s ethnic cleansing and occupation, which is a non-starter.
‘Pause’ in US aid
07 Feb, 2025

‘Pause’ in US aid

THE impact of the Trump administration’s decision to ‘pause’ all US foreign aid programmes, especially those...
Mobilising opposition
07 Feb, 2025

Mobilising opposition

POLITICS makes strange bedfellows. There has not, for quite some time, been a guest list as intriguing as the one...
No time left
Updated 06 Feb, 2025

No time left

Climate change concerns continue to remain a footnote as politics dominates national discourse, surfacing only when disaster strikes.
Karim Aga Khan
06 Feb, 2025

Karim Aga Khan

PRINCE Karim Aga Khan was a man who straddled various worlds and cultures. Beyond his role as spiritual leader of ...
Cotton production
06 Feb, 2025

Cotton production

PAKISTAN’S cotton crop is on the ropes. The crop output has been falling since FY15, when the country harvested a...