



Chief of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Mulllah Fazlullah has said the Pakistan government and army will have to ‘submit to the authority of Allah and the system He has laid down’, the same way the Taliban have, BBC Urdu reported on Sunday.





Fazlullah gave the statement in a video released by the group’s Darra Adam Khel chapter. The brief video, which has been circulating on the social networking site Facebook, shows the TTP chief arriving in a mountainous area where he is welcomed by militants armed with heavy weapons.Addressing Taliban fighters in the video, Fazlullah said the government, army and secret agencies have to accept the writ of Allah, just as the Taliban have. The TTP chief told Taliban fidayeen (suicide bombers) to prepare to fight against the tanks and artillery of ‘forces that transgress the limits set by God’. He added that his struggle for the implementation of Shariah will continue.The video comes at a time when talks between the government and the Taliban have stalled. Fazlullah, who is said to have been opposed to dialogue, made no mention of the peace process in the video.According to sources, the government and the Taliban have been in contact with each other through secret channels. However, formal talks have not resumed.Last month, the TTP announced they would not extend their 40-day ceasefire with the Pakistan government. Still, the security situation in the country is said to be slightly better.Published in The Express Tribune, May 19, 2014.