‘Fight us if you’ve had your mother’s milk’: TTP issues open challenge to Army Chief Asim Munir

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): A ceasefire has been reached between Pakistan and Afghanistan through Qatar-Turkey mediation. However, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) continues to plague the Pakistani military. Several videos released by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) show a top TTP commander, Munir, threatening that the Pakistani military should refrain from sending its soldiers to their deaths and, instead, that top officials should enter the battlefield themselves.

According to media reports, these videos include footage from an October 8 ambush in Kurram, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in which the TTP claims 22 Pakistani soldiers were killed and shows ammunition and vehicles seized. Official Pakistani statements have so far reported a lower casualty figure. The army has acknowledged the killing of 11 soldiers in the attack. In one clip, a senior TTP leader, identified by Pakistani officials as Commander Kazim, appears on camera and says, "Face us if you are a man." In the same video, Kazim adds, "Fight us if you have drunk your mother's milk." On October 21, Pakistani authorities announced a reward of 100 million Pakistani rupees (PKR) for information leading to Kazim's arrest.