A senior member of the outlawed TTP’s central shura, Mufti Sheikh Khalid Qureshi, has once again threatened the brave people of Lakki Marwat, warning that they will be targeted anew.
Qureshi issued threats specifically against Marwat tribes, saying they could again be struck in playgrounds. He wrote, “Do not force the TTP to once again spill blood in sports grounds. The authority to kill or spare rests with us, given by Allah. Who has given this authority to the people of Lakki Marwat? Pakistan’s infidels?”
He went on to declare, “If today the people of Lakki Marwat pledge allegiance to the Afghan Amir, in reality Modi, and cut off everything from Pakistan to join Afghanistan, they will be forgiven. Otherwise, we will once again target your schools, colleges and playgrounds for the sake of Allah.”
His threat is a clear reference to the horrific attack of 1 January 2010 in Lakki Marwat’s Shah Hassan Khel area, where the banned TTP carried out a suicide bombing using an explosives‑laden vehicle during a volleyball match, martyring 105 tribesmen and injuring hundreds.
Qureshi, however, seems to have forgotten the lesson of yesterday, when the people of Lakki Marwat, along with the neighbouring district of Bannu, stood shoulder to shoulder with their police force and broke the terrorists’ strength. Even today the people openly challenge them, telling them to come into the open field and test their might if they have any courage.
The world now knows that these so‑called militants behave like cowards, striking from hiding or targeting unarmed civilians, and whenever a real man of the field challenges them, they disappear into their caves like jackals.
