(RTTNews) - Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Hakimullah Mehsud has called on his armed followers to stand up to the ongoing military offensive in tribal South Waziristan, warning them that those who turn their back from their bounden duty will go to "hell."

Reminding his armed followers that this was the "commandment of God" that once fighting began with the enemy, one could not leave the battlefield without permission from one's commander, Mehsud asked them not to look for excuses to run away from the battlefield.

"Those who do run away, will go to hell," he told his armed followers in a message broadcast over a wireless radio network, and intercepted by intelligence officials Thursday.

Stating that they were in jihad (holy war against infidels) and should not pay heed to "whispers of Satan," the TTP chief called on his followers to sacrifice their lives for the "sake of Islam" so that they could "feel pride on the day of judgment."
Pakistani intelligence officials say Mehsud's message signifies that many insurgents are fleeing the massive offensive launched by the army in mid-October in South Waziristan, the Taliban's stronghold.

The military says hundreds of militants are killed in the offensive--including over 28 in just one day in many Taliban strongholds of Ladha and Makeen in South Waziristan--and that hundreds more have been wounded.

The claims cannot be verified as the region has been closed to outsiders since the operation began.

by RTT Staff Writer

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