Pakistan has no intention of holding talks with TTP: FO

The Foreign Office (FO) said on Thursday that Pakistan does not intend to hold talks with the militant group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch clarified Pakistan’s stance in a weekly media briefing by saying that TTP has accepted responsibility for numerous terrorist attacks.

“Afghan authorities should ensure the elimination of terrorist hideouts and hand over to Islamabad those responsible for terror incidents in Pakistan,” she said.

The spokesperson said Pakistan appreciated South Africa’s move to take the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to task Israel for its alleged genocide of Palestinians.

“However, Pakistan will not be commenting on the relations or differences between sovereign countries.” she maintained.

The spokesperson said that Pakistan demands an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the massacre of Palestinians. “We believe in the two-state solution - a solution in which Palestine has pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds as its capital,” Baloch further said.

The spokesperson said Balakot was a military fiasco for India. “It was an instance of Indian adventurism that went badly and embarrassingly wrong for them,” she said.

She recalled that the Indian aircraft were shot down and an Indian pilot was taken as a prisoner by Pakistan.

She said despite India’s adventurism, Pakistan behaved responsibly to de-escalate the situation while demonstrating its capacity to respond when its security is threatened.