PESHAWAR: Banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has announced supporting the anti-polio drives on a condition that such campaigns were not used by the United States as a cover for espionage.
The Pakistani Taliban militants also placed the condition that their apprehensions about the vaccination campaigns being ‘un-Islamic’ be removed.
| They're asking that we convince them that their irrational fears are irrational. Somehow I don't think that's going to work... |
“If they can convince us that these polio drops are Islamic and the spy agencies are not using it to kill our fighters, we would have no objection to any vaccination drive which is in the public interest,” TTP spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan said while talking to private news channel on Friday via telephone from an undisclosed location.
Referring to the Abbottabad incident which led to the capture of Osama bin Laden, Ehsan said vaccination drives were being used by the CIA to hunt down its ‘Mujahideen’.
| If only our CIA was that clever... |
“Our opposition and suspicion to the vaccination drives have been increased manifold after the Abbottabad incident,” he said.
The Taliban spokesman also denied any involvement in previous attacks on polio workers.
| Must have been the Ruritanians... |
“We are not involved in attack on the polio teams and the threats given to them. We do have reservations against the drive but we are not attacking them,” said Ehsanullah. “Our strategy is very clear. We will not attack any public welfare institution and non-military installations,” he added. |