Islmabad: Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has rejected Interior Minister Rehman Malik’s demand that dialogue should be preceded by a ceasefire.
Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said that a ceasefire could be one of the topics on the talks’ agenda.
Malik recently said that the government is ready to hold dialogue with the Taliban provided they announce ceasefire first, and appoint some sincere religious scholars to achieve purposeful results.
According to the Express Tribune, the TTP spokesman lashed out at Malik for adopting what he called a ‘non-serious approach’ towards the dialogue offer.
He said that the group had ‘made the offer of holding talks, but have not received any response from the government so far.’
According to the paper, Malik has been critical of Ehsan, and advised the TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud and his deputy, Waliur Rehman, that their spokesman was “not loyal” to them and that they “should be careful of him”.
ANI
