Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Friday ruled out talks with the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), asserting that the state would continue its fight against the outfit for the “next 100 years”.

The premier’s statement comes on the heels of an increase in terror attacks across the country, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, after the TTP ended its ceasefire with the government in November last year.

According to data compiled by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), the number of militant attacks in August was the highest tally for monthly strikes in almost nine years.

Earlier this year, the then Shehbaz Sharif-led government had said that Pakistan’s leadership would not hold talks with terrorist organisations that don’t respect the country’s laws and the Constitution, adding that the PTI had adopted an appeasement policy towards the TTP.

In April, the Pakistan Army’s spokesperson had also distanced the military from holding dialogue with the TTP.

During a media talk in Peshawar today, PM Kakar was asked about the obstacles in talks with the banned group.

“Who wants to talk to them? We don’t. Who said we have intentions of talking to them? Are you not seeing how their people and our people are being killed on a daily basis?

“They are killing my children, I am killing them,” the prime minister asserted.

PM Kakar stated that the State of Pakistan was strong enough to keep fighting the TTP, not for a year but for 100 years. “I can make this announcement in North Waziristan and South,” he said.

In response to a question on the government’s recent decision to expel undocumented immigrants, PM Kakar clarified that it was pertaining to only those people who were illegally residing in the country.

The caretaker government earlier this month gave an ultimatum to all undocumented immigrants, including Afghan nationals, to leave Pakistan by October 31, or risk imprisonment and deportation to their respective countries.

PM Kakar said the process of expelling these people could not be completed in a week or two because provinces were facing their own challenges.

“We will implement a rationalised policy in this which prevents financial burden on one province or administrative anarchy,” he said, adding that the entire process would be smooth.

The prime minister also stated that the government had not taken the decision out of spite or ego. “I am doing this for myself, this is not to upset Afghanistan or please them.”

PM Kakar stated that Pakistan wanted to create a system of movement with Afghanistan that was based on international rules. “This will benefit Pakistan and also them … and we will have a healthy relationship with our neighbour.”

“Our objective is clear that we want to establish a regulated movement with all our neighbours, particularly Afghanistan,” he added.