MINGORA: Chief of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Swat chapter, Maulana Fazlullah, on Saturday assigned tasks to his commanders to hit targets in case the peace deal with the provincial government was scrapped.

The development came at a marathon meeting of the TTP held at the Taliban headquarters in Peuchar area of Matta tehsil. Taliban said after the meeting, which continued for two days, that they would abduct more security personnel to force the release of their comrades and refused to set free the two police officials they had kidnapped.

They said a “very important issue” was also discussed at the meeting, which they did not elaborate. Spokesman for the Swat Taliban, Muslim Khan, told The News at the end of the meeting that more than 50 militant commanders met to take up the post-ultimatum situation. He said Maulana Fazlullah chaired the meeting during which every commander was assigned a task. “When our central chief Baitullah Mehsud would order attacks, we would resume our militant activities,” he said.

To a question whether their activities would be limited to the Swat Valley, he said it would depend on the instructions of Baitullah. “We could expand our area of operation if he ordered so,” he said.

Baitullah had threatened the NWFP government on Thursday to quit within five days or it would be responsible for the adverse consequences. He had also warned that he could order the Swat chapter of the TTP to withdraw from the May 21 peace accord in reaction to the ongoing operation against the militants in Hangu district.

However, Muslim Khan said the agreement was still intact as the central chief of the TTP had not yet ordered its scrapping. “The government released only 16 Taliban prisoners and that too through the painful judicial process, but arrested 11 of our colleagues at check-posts and other raids after the agreement,” he added.

“We only retaliated to the government action. We would continue to kidnap the security forces in future,” he said. To a question, he said there was no high profile Taliban militant among the 11 arrested by the authorities.

To another question, he said the Swat Taliban had not put the chief minister and some NWFP ministers on their hit list. “We don’t have a thing like a hit list. When we carry out attacks, they are indiscriminate,” he said.