TTP wants more time to decide on ceasefire: Maulana Yousaf Shah
- February 16, 2014, 8:00 pm
- National News
- 128 Views
Peshawar, February 16 (Online): The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) asked for more time to decide on a ceasefire, coordinator of the TTP peace talks committee Maulana Yousaf Shah stated on Sunday.
While speaking to a private news channel, Shah said that hopefully a ceasefire will be agreed upon soon.
Talks with the TTP had made some headway after the group had agreed to cease attacks during the nascent dialogue process, a senior official familiar with the matter had revealed on February 9.
However, an attack on a police bus on February 13 that killed 13 police personnel and injured 57 others violated the informal agreement. TTP had claimed responsibility for the attack, calling it an act of revenge for the targeting of its operatives in various parts of the country by security forces.
On February 15, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Samiul Haq (JUI-S) ameer and Taliban’s chief intermediary Maulana Samiul Haq had appealed to the government and Taliban to announce a ceasefire. He made this plea while reading out a joint declaration after an Ulema and Mashaikh Peace Convention at a Lahore hotel.
