TTP spokesman urges all militant groups to respect the decision and refrain from attacks during this period.
Pakistani Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid on Saturday announced a month-long ceasefire to allow the resumption of stalled peace talks with the government.
“We announce a month-long ceasefire from today and appeal to all our comrades to respect the decision and refrain from any activity during this period,” the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) spokesman said. “Because of a positive response from the government, an appeal from the religious scholars and for the better future of Pakistan we have decided not to carry out any activity (attacks) for one month,” he added.
Last month Islamabad began peace talks with the Taliban in an attempt to end a seven-year insurgency that has cost thousands of lives. But the militant group continued to carry out attacks in the country on a near-daily basis.
Government mediators later suspended dialogue with their Taliban counterparts after the insurgents claimed they had executed 23 kidnapped soldiers in a northwestern tribal region. In addition, the Pakistan Air Force launched targeted strikes on militant hideouts, resulting in the deaths of 100 alleged militants in the country’s tribal areas.
Last week, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan announced a new counterterrorism policy, claiming that in future any militant attacks would be retaliated with targeted strikes on militant hideouts.
1 comment
Are they serious? And the very same day they kill eleven members of security forces guarding a polio team. What a joke. I have a feeling the government of Pakistan is full of idiots who will welcome this and defer the military operation till later.