Talks can’t be held under Constitution: TTP leader Saturday, September 28, 2013

PESHAWAR: The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Mohmand Agency chapter has said that talks with the government cannot be held under the purview of the Constitution. In a statement on Friday, TTP Mohmand Agency chapter chief Muhammad Umar Khurasani said that the government talks about the Constitution while the Taliban demand enforcement of Shariah, so there could not be any dialogue. Khurasani said the Taliban would never backtrack even a single inch from their religious demand.Issue of talks with the government for peace has created rifts in the ranks and files of the TTP as the Punjabi section of the Taliban supports the dialogue while the Pakhtun segment from the Mohmand Agency has strongly opposed it. Khurasani said that if any Taliban commander strikes a deal with the government, they will not back it, and the commander will have to bear the cost. He said that any agreement struck outside the tribal area will be invalid.