New Delhi: A terrorist leader with alleged links with the al-Queda welcomed an offer by Pakistan’s new Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani to negotiate with Islamic fighters accused of launching attacks from tribal regions bordering Afghanistan.
Maulvi Faqir Mohammed, chief of the terrorist group Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, said on Sunday that his fighters were not "enemies" of Pakistan, adding "our war is with America.”
Speaking in the Bajur tribal region, Mohammed told more than 4,000 supporters, hundreds of armed terrorists among them, that they welcomed the government's announcement of talks with the Taliban.
He said that previously "due to the (former) government policies against Islam I ordered a kidnapping of soldiers from checkpoints, I also ordered a carrying out of attacks on forces and I also ordered my soldiers to kill all those people who abuse our Prophet and other Islamic leaders.”
He added those actions had been his position "up to now.”
Pakistani authorities claim Mohammed has ties with al-Queda number two leader Ayman al-Zawahri.
Mohammed's comments came a day after Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said in his inaugural speech that fighting terrorism was his government's top priority.
President Pervez Musharraf, Gilani also said his government was willing to talk to terrorists who are ready to lay down their arms and "join the path of peace."
Expanding education and development in the impoverished region would be a "key pillar" of the government's strategy against terrorists in the tribal zone, he said.
A purported spokesman for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan group echoed Mohammed's comments at the tribal gathering, welcoming the government's announcement.
He said the group was ready to work with the new government to bring peace to the country on the condition they didn't repeat "the mistakes of the last government.”
The United States has criticised past efforts to reach out to terrorists, saying it has allowed hard-liners to tighten their grip along the border.
Many Pakistanis believe Musharraf's reliance on large-scale army operations, as well as his tacit approval of US air-strikes inside Pakistan, have endangered civilians and produced a spike in domestic terrorist attacks.
On Sunday, a leader in Gilani's administration called for Musharraf to step down.
Opposition parties swept last month's parliamentary elections amid resentment over Musharraf's increasingly authoritarian rule, Pakistan's mounting economic problems and a surge in militancy.
The defeat has triggered calls for Musharraf, a former army chief who seized power in a military coup eight years ago, to resign.
Parliament elected Gilani, a loyalist of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, as prime minister last week.
On Monday, Musharraf was expected to swear in more than 20 members of the new Cabinet.
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