June 3, 2022
ISLAMABAD – The outlawed Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) announced on Thursday an “indefinite ceasefire” in view of the “substantial progress” made in talks with the government during a round of meetings in Kabul.
The announcement, made by TTP spokesman Mohammad Khorasani, comes a day after a 50-member Pakistani tribal jirga — including a federal minister, representatives from the KP government and tribal elders — joined the peace talks on Wednesday.
“There had been substantial progress in talks over the past two days. As a result, the TTP leadership has announced an indefinite ceasefire,” the TTP spokesman said.
He said talks would continue in days to come to push the dialogue process.
A member of the jirga also confirmed the ceasefire with a terse “yes” when Dawn.com approached him in Kabul.
The Inter-Services Public Relations, the military’s public affairs wing, did not reply to a query about the TTP’s announcement.
Dawn.com had on Tuesday reported that the TTP and the government negotiators had agreed on an indefinite ceasefire.
The ceasefire was one of the key issues on the agenda that is now seen as a major confidence-building measure to take the process forward.
The previous ceasefire between the two sides expired on May 30.
Former governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Shaukatullah Khan, who is part of the jirga, had told Dawn.com that the jirga’s role is “very important” in view of tribal traditions that are respected by both sides.
On the first day of the talks, both sides had shared their views on how to take the process forward and mooted suggestions in this regard.