PESHAWAR: The banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has extended the ceasefire until April 10, asking its fighters not to carry out any attacks against the government and law enforcement agencies until further orders.
The development came after the government announced on Thursday that it had released 19 non-combatant Taliban prisoners as a goodwill gesture for bolstering the peace process with the TTP.
In a statement issued to the media on Friday, the TTP Shahidullah Shahid said that the Taliban Shura has extended the deadline and would sit after April 10 to decide about the future of talks.
Shahid said that the Taliban were still awaiting a reply from the government regarding the group’s demands including the release of non-combatants, but despite the passage of three days above the ceasefire deadline, the government had not yet responded to the TTP.
The spokesman said the TTP has ordered its fighters not to carry out any attacks against the government and law enforcement agencies until further orders.
Moreover, he said that the TTP wanted to clarify its position before the nation that it was serious about the talks but the response from the government was not encouraging. He said that despite the fact the government’s peace committee had met the Taliban leadership empty-handed, the Taliban had shown willingness to talk peace.
On Thursday, the interior ministry issued details of the 19 released non-combatant Taliban prisoners. The ministry official said that three prisoners were released on March 21 and five prisoners on March 25 while eleven prisoners were freed on March 28.
The ministry official said all the released prisoners belonged to Mehsud tribe. He said that these prisoners were arrested on the basis of intelligence reports and suspicion.
