Pakistan announces ceasefire with TTP group for one month

Gulf Today Report

The ceasefire agreement between the Pakistan government and the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) movement will run for one month, authorities announced on Monday.

It is a month-long ceasefire with a key militant group behind numerous attacks on security forces and civilians over the last 14 years, with an option to extend if both sides agree, the militant group said in a statement.

It said the ceasefire would begin on Tuesday and run until Dec.9 unless both sides agreed to an extension. It would apply to both sides equally.

READ MORE

UAE, Pakistan sign deal to boost joint efforts in climate environment at COP26

100 Million Meals Campaign distributes more than 10.8m meals across the UAE

Government spokesman Fawad Chaudhry said on Twitter that the Taliban government in Afghanistan helped facilitate the cease-fire between the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan and the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.

Pakistan government spokesman Fawad Chaudhry speaks during an event.

In a statement, TTP spokesperson Mohammad Khurasani confirmed the cease-fire beginning Nov. 9 will remain in place until Dec. 9, during which both sides will form a committee to continue talks. He said both sides will adhere to the cease-fire.

The agreement was reached amid ongoing peace talks between the government and the TTP that began last month. Chaudry said the truce could be extended if talks continue to make progress.

Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan is an umbrella group and is a separate organization from Afghanistan’s Taliban, who seized power in August.

The TTP has been emboldened by the return to power of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Chaudhry provided no details about the ongoing talks, during which he said both sides agreed on the cease-fire.

Authorities had earlier said that peace talks were taking place with TTP leaders in Afghanistan, where they have been hiding for the past several years. The TTP was formed by Pakistani militants in 2007 and since then thousands of people have been killed in scores of attacks claimed by the group in the past 14 years.

Chaudhry said elders from the former tribal regions were being kept abreast of the talks with the militant group. About a million people were displaced when Pakistan launched operations in the northwest in 2013 to clear out TTP fighters. They returned to their homes after 2017 when Pakistan claimed victory against the militants.