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Pakistani Taliban announces month-long truce
Published on
Saturday, 1 March 2014
10:00 pm
//
world news
Armed group
says it will halt attacks during ceasefire period to allow resumption of
failed peace talks with government.
Pakistani Taliban
has announced a month-long ceasefire in an attempt to allow the resumption
of stalled peace talks with the government, a spokesperson of the armed
group said in an emailed statement to Al Jazeera.
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"So on the
appeal of dignitaries, respect for the Taliban negotiation committee, and
bearing in mind the wider interest of Islam and the country - Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan (TTP) announces a month-long ceasefire," Shahidullah Shahid said
on Saturday.
"To fix the
breakdown and for lasting ceasefire, the government committee has responded
positively to our suggestions. And we've been assured that actions will be
taken to implement those suggestions," he said.
The group said
that "it had instructed all its regional groups not to carry out
attacks" during the period.
One of the
regional groups, TTP Mohmand chapter, says it will abide by the ceasefire
announcement.
A statement from
Omar Khurasani of the group, that is against peace talks, said he was not happy
with the way government agencies were killing Taliban captives, but respected
the central TTP leadership decision.
Last month
Islamabad began peace talks with the Taliban on how to end a
seven-year armed rebellion which has cost thousands of lives.
Government
welcomes
Irfan Sadiqui,
the leader of the government's negotiating team, praised the ceasefire
announcement while speaking on local Geo Television, saying the government will
review any written document from the Taliban about it, according to AP news
agency.
"Today, we
are seeing a big breakthrough," Sadiqui said.
The announcement
comes as Pakistan jets and helicopters struck fighter hideouts in the northwest
in recent weeks after previous efforts at negotiations broke down when a rebel
faction announced it had killed 23 Pakistani troops.
Al Jazeera's
Kamal Hyder, reporting from the capital, Islamabad, said that the (Taliban's)
policy changed after the government said it would go after the headquarters of
the group if it came under attack.
Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif long has promoted negotiations over military operations as a way
to end the ongoing crisis. His efforts gained speed this year when both sides
announced negotiating teams held initial meetings.
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