Mehsud links truce with stoppage of US drone attacks

PESHAWAR: The banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Chief Hakeemullah Mehsud has linked holding of ceasefire with the stoppage of US drone strikes. In an interview with BBC, Mehsud said that for any ceasefire to be credible "it is important that drone strikes are stopped". He said that the government has not yet taken serious steps to initiate peace talks, adding that it handed over the matter to the media following the All Parties Conference (APC). Hakeemullah Mehsud said that the group would not hold dialogue with the government through media. "We are not prepared to discuss conditions through the media." The banned TTP chief further said that they are convinced to have "serious talks." If the government would send a Jirga to them then they would provide it full security, he added. When asked about the withdrawal of US-led troops from Afghanistan at the end of next year, Mehsud said: "America is one of the two reasons we have to conduct a jihad against Pakistan. The other reason is that Pakistan's system is un-Islamic, and we want it replaced with an Islamic system. "This demand and this desire will continue even after the American withdrawal."