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 on Wednesday explicitly named Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. “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. In the statement, the TTP accused ruling coalition of working at the behest of the United States. It said Prime Minister Sharif “tried to please America by declaring a war” against the TTP. “Unfortunately, it is not clear how the current government fell under the spell of the United States of America,” it said. The TTP statement said foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is “trying to quench the thirst for his mother by declaring America his mother.”