TTP still open to ceasefire, says its leader Noor Wali Mehsud

Peshawar, Jan 8 (SocialNews.XYZ) The banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan's (TTP) leader, Mufti Noor Wali Mehsood, has indicated that his outfit is still amenable to a ceasefire agreement with the Pakistan government.

"We held talks with Pakistan mediated by Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan. We are still open to the ceasefire agreement," Mehsood said in a message.

The statement indicated that the TTP sought guidance from religious scholars, saying: "If you find anything mislaid, any negligence or if you believe we have changed our course - you, being our teachers and religious scholars, [should] guide us the same way as you guided us earlier. We are ready to listen to your opinion," Dawn reported.

On January 4, TTP's supreme council issued a fresh directive on 'meeting' the TTP chief when it banned any meeting with the chief stating 'security' concerns until further orders where at the same time directions were issued for its affiliates to carry on with their activities under command of the local leadership.

On November 28, 2022, the banned outfit, in a statement, called off the ceasefire agreed with the government in June 2022 and ordered its militants to stage attacks across the country, Dawn reported.

Amid an upsurge in terrorist attacks, the country's civil and military leadership is undertaking a major policy review in order to stem the tide of banned TTP, The Express Tribune reported.

The rise in the TTP-sponsored attacks has pushed the authorities concerned to revisit the strategy pursued by the previous government.

Official sources say closed-door discussions are ongoing and major decisions are expected in the next couple of weeks.

Source: IANS