ISLAMABAD: The Tehreek-e- Taliban Pakistan(TTP) leader Hakimullah Mehsud on Wednesday said he was still open to peace talks, but that the government had not taken any serious steps to start a dialogue.
Mehsud, who has a $5 million US government bounty on his head, said he would continue to target the United States and its allies and reiterated the demand that any ceasefire in Pakistan must include an end to US drone strikes.
"We believe in serious talks and we are ready to sit down for them, but the government has not taken any serious steps," Mehsud said in a rare video interview with the BBC at an undisclosed location in the north-western tribal areas.
"The government has not formally made any contact," he said.
"There is a set procedure for talks, that if one is ready for talks with the other side then they sit with each other and discuss the matters."
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) responded with a list of preconditions, including a government ceasefire and the withdrawal of troops from the tribal areas along the Afghan border.
But ongoing violence, including a recent wave of bombings in Peshawar that killed more than 140 people within a week, has prompted many to question the proposed negotiations.
But Mehsud told the BBC he was not behind the recent deadly attacks.
"Foreign secret agencies are involved in the recent blasts in public places. It is a conspiracy to defame the Taliban and to stop public support," he said while vowing to continue fighting the US and its allies.
He also reiterated comments made by a group spokesman last week that the TTP was ready for a ceasefire in Pakistan, but only if the US ended its drone strikes in the country.
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