Pakistani Taliban end ceasefire, future of peace talks uncertain | Pakistani Taliban News

Islamabad, Pakistan – Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) armed group, also known as the Pakistani Taliban, unilaterally announces a month-long ceasefire He accused the Pakistani government of refusing to make promises in the early stages of peace talks, according to a statement.

The ceasefire came into effect on November 9 after the Pakistani government announced talks with an armed group fighting against the Pakistani government since 2007 and dozens of attacks on civilian and security forces across the country.

On Thursday night, the TTP announced “it is not possible to continue the ceasefire” under current conditions, in a statement released to reporters.

The Pakistani government has yet to comment on the development, and Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.

On November 8, Chaudhry confirmed that a month-long ceasefire had been agreed between the government and the TTP.

“The talks will focus on state sovereignty, national security, peace in important areas, and social and economic stability,” Pakistan State Television reported.

The announcement came as Prime Minister Imran Khan announced talks between the two sides a month after the Afghan government fell to the Afghan Taliban in mid-August.

The TTP and the Afghan Taliban are allies, although they maintain separate operational and command structures.

On November 14, Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi confirmed that they were from the Afghan Taliban. acting as an intermediary in lectures.

“Part of a war strategy”

A statement from TTP on Thursday called for the Pakistani government to initially implement the six-point agreement to withdraw from the ceasefire.

The armed group says the initial agreement was to secure the release of 102 TTP prisoners detained in Pakistan, “to release TTP on November 1 through the Islamic Emirate.”

He also accused Pakistani security forces of violating the ceasefire by searching and arresting TTP fighters in Lakki Marwat, Swat, Bajaur, Dir and Swabi areas.

The Pakistani military did not immediately respond to the request for comment on the allegations.

Security analysts have expressed skepticism about the peace talks process, citing previous agreements between the TTP or its allies and the Pakistani government.

“Not all of these settlements will bring an end to the TTP in this region,” said Amir Rana, a security analyst and director of the Pakistani Institute for Peace Studies in Islamabad (PIPS).

“They still have ambitions, and they believe this ceasefire, that talks are part of a war strategy. According to them, this is not the end of the war, it is part of the war. “

Since 2007, the TTP has carried out some of the deadliest attacks on Pakistani soil, targeting political, civilian and security forces, suicide bombings, improvised explosive devices (IED) attacks, targeted killings and other types of attacks.

In 2014, the group claimed responsibility for an attack on a school in the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing more than 140 people, including 132 school children.

The number of TTP attacks has dropped since a military operation launched in 2014 took the group out of a stronghold in the former North Waziristan district, but occasional small-scale and small-scale attacks have continued.

Analysts say the Pakistani government’s approach to talks has strengthened the group.

“It simply came to our notice then [a strict interpretation of Islamic law]It will not be accepted by the Pakistani state, ”said Madiha Afzal, a member of the US-based think tank Brookings Institution.

“But even if the agreement is unlikely, the way the government talks to the TTP about the peace deal has done a lot of damage because it has not made any effort to tell the ideology and demands of the group.”

In 2021, TTP and its allies have expanded their influence in Pakistan’s border regions of northwestern Afghanistan, residents say.

The group has launched attacks on civilians and security forces and has intensified extortion and enforced tribal council decisions. Al Jazeera research found.

Asad Hashim is a digital correspondent for Pakistan’s Al Jazeera. @AsadHashim Tweets.