International

Pakistani Taliban Declares End to Ceasefire

Published

3 years ago

Dec 10, 2021.

Pakistani Taliban declares end to ceasefire

EKO HOT BLOG reports that Taliban militants in Pakistan proclaimed the end of a month-long truce negotiated with the help of the Afghan Taliban, accusing the government of violating provisions such as prisoner release and the creation of negotiation committees.

The Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), are a breakaway movement from the Afghan Taliban that has fought for years to topple the government in Islamabad and rule under their own interpretation of Islamic Sharia law.

Pakistani Taliban ceasefire

Last month’s truce, which was always scheduled to last through Thursday but could be extended if both parties agreed, was the latest in a series of attempts to mediate an end to a conflict that has killed hundreds.

The Afghan Taliban’s shock overthrow of the Western-backed government in August gave the talks fresh impetus but the TTP accused Islamabad of failing to respect the ceasefire agreement.

It said the government had not released more than 100 prisoners as promised and had not appointed negotiating teams to conduct talks. It also said security forces had carried out raids while the ceasefire was in force.

“Now let the Pakistani people decide whether it is the TTP or the Pakistani army and establishment that is not abiding by the agreements?” the group said in a statement.

“In these circumstances, it is not possible to advance the ceasefire,” it said.

Best known in the West for attacking Malala Yousafzai, the schoolgirl who went on to win the Nobel Prize for her work promoting girls’ education, the TTP has killed thousands of military personnel and civilians over the years in bombings and suicide attacks.

Among its attacks was a 2014 assault on a military-run school in Peshawar, near the border with Afghanistan, which killed 149 people including 132 children.

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