Pakistani Taliban TTP warns Imran Khan ahead of drones march
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan says it will not protect 'westernised' Khan during protest march through dangerous tribal region
The Pakistani Taliban has launched a scathing attack on Imran Khan as he prepares to lead a "peace march" against US drone strikes.
A spokesman for the group said it would not provide protection to the former cricketer as he leads what organisers hope will be tens of thousands of protesters, including several US peace activists, into the country's most dangerous region of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) on Sunday. The area has been off limits for years because of the complex war being fought between the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Pakistani army.
The TTP has rejected "baseless" reports that it would protect Khan, who has led the high-profile campaign against the CIA's unmanned aircraft attacks on Fata, which have killed many leading militants. "Our mujahideen are not so priceless that we deploy them to protect a westernised and secular personality," the spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan, said.
Khan regularly attacks Pakistan's westernised liberals, earning him the nicknames "Taliban Khan" and "Clean-shaved Mullah".
But the TTP have been unimpressed by his credentials as a man of the religious right, describing him as a "slave of the west".
"Imran Khan's so-called peace march is not in sympathy for drone-hit Muslims but only to increase his political popularity," it said. The group added that it would not reveal whether it planned to attack Khan's convoy, in order to protect "military tactics".
In recent days, other militants in the area have warned of dangers to the marchers. On Thursday in Tank, one of Fata's administrative units, leaflets from a little-known militant group called Mujahideen Jaishul Khilafa were circulated, warning people not to participate in the rally.
If anything "unpleasant happened", Khan should be held responsible, the leaflets warned, adding: "On the politics of drone, [Khan] is promoting the Jewish agenda and Christianity."
Khan had claimed the militants had no problem with his plan to march to the town of Kotkai in South Waziristan. "The tribes have got in touch with the militants and the tribes have told us that it's fine, they have no objections to it," he said.
But even without Taliban opposition, doubts have increased over whether he will succeed in entering the region, despite claims by Khan's supporters that the army had given its blessing.
Some officials from Fata were adamant the protesters would not be given permission to enter the territory. "[Khan] should realise he is going to put everyone in danger," Tafsheen Khan, the chief secretary, warned.
Joining supporters of the Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf are foreign anti-war activists, including a largely female contingent from the US group Code Pink, and Clive Stafford Smith, the director of the British human rights group Reprieve.(Kylen H.)
A spokesman for the group said it would not provide protection to the former cricketer as he leads what organisers hope will be tens of thousands of protesters, including several US peace activists, into the country's most dangerous region of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) on Sunday. The area has been off limits for years because of the complex war being fought between the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Pakistani army.
The TTP has rejected "baseless" reports that it would protect Khan, who has led the high-profile campaign against the CIA's unmanned aircraft attacks on Fata, which have killed many leading militants. "Our mujahideen are not so priceless that we deploy them to protect a westernised and secular personality," the spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan, said.
Khan regularly attacks Pakistan's westernised liberals, earning him the nicknames "Taliban Khan" and "Clean-shaved Mullah".
But the TTP have been unimpressed by his credentials as a man of the religious right, describing him as a "slave of the west".
"Imran Khan's so-called peace march is not in sympathy for drone-hit Muslims but only to increase his political popularity," it said. The group added that it would not reveal whether it planned to attack Khan's convoy, in order to protect "military tactics".
In recent days, other militants in the area have warned of dangers to the marchers. On Thursday in Tank, one of Fata's administrative units, leaflets from a little-known militant group called Mujahideen Jaishul Khilafa were circulated, warning people not to participate in the rally.
If anything "unpleasant happened", Khan should be held responsible, the leaflets warned, adding: "On the politics of drone, [Khan] is promoting the Jewish agenda and Christianity."
Khan had claimed the militants had no problem with his plan to march to the town of Kotkai in South Waziristan. "The tribes have got in touch with the militants and the tribes have told us that it's fine, they have no objections to it," he said.
But even without Taliban opposition, doubts have increased over whether he will succeed in entering the region, despite claims by Khan's supporters that the army had given its blessing.
Some officials from Fata were adamant the protesters would not be given permission to enter the territory. "[Khan] should realise he is going to put everyone in danger," Tafsheen Khan, the chief secretary, warned.
Joining supporters of the Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf are foreign anti-war activists, including a largely female contingent from the US group Code Pink, and Clive Stafford Smith, the director of the British human rights group Reprieve.(Kylen H.)
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