KARACHI - Pakistan said on Wednesday that outlawed organisation Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (LeJ) had an affiliation with Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
According to a report published on BBC, Ministry of Interior said in a letter sent to all provinces in the country that the banned organisation had sought help from Al-Qaeda but upon refusal LJ formed a nexus with TTP.
The letter reportedly stated that LJ militants, in an attempt to free their organisation's imprisoned members, might possibly hold ordinary people hostage.
The interior ministry also said that a man named Abdul Rehman from Kabirwala, Punjab, was in charge of monitoring LJ activities in Punjab and has planned various attacks in Lahore and other areas.
The letter also mentioned that following a crackdown by security forces and law enforcement agencies against the organisation, the workers had sought help from Al-Qaeda. However, Al-Qaeda refused to help LJ due to its engagement in Iraq and Syria.
The interior ministry said that after Al-Qaeda's refusal, TTP leader Mullah Fazlullah contacted the organisation. He not only provided financial support to LJ but also promised to lend more support to the banned outfit.
The official documents also state that the purpose of targeting Shias in the country is to pressurise the government to halt executions of convicts belonging to terrorist organisations.
According to the government, the recent rise in violence in the country is the result of the affiliation between LJ and TTP. However, the responsibility of an attack on a Shia mosque in Peshawar was accepted by TTP and they had released the video of the attackers.
Government recently lifted the moratorium on death penalty in the country after the gruesome Taliban attack on Peshawar's Army Public school in December last year, which left more than 150 people dead including more than 130 children.
So far 22 terrorists have been executed, including a number of LJ workers. Last month, after the execution of two LJ workers, there was a cracker bomb attack outside two private schools in Karachi. The police also found pamphlets that warned of more attacks if executions were not stopped.