Pakistani Taliban extend ceasefire for a week

KABUL on Friday announced extending the ceasefire with the government until April 10.

Shahidullah Shahid, the group’s spokesman, said that the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) shura would meet after the 10th of April to decide a future course of action.

The outlawed outfit made the announcement a day after the interior ministry said it had released 19 non-combatant militants as a goodwill gesture to step up the peace process.

In a statement, Shahid said the Taliban shura had extended the truce, awaiting a reply from the government to its demands, including the release of non-combatants.

The TTP had ordered its fighters not to conduct attacks against the government and law-enforcement agencies until further directives, the spokesman added.

The statement in Urdu language said the TTP wanted to convey to the nation its seriousness about the negotiations. However, the government’s response had not been encouraging, he lamented.

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