Pakistan Government to stop strikes against TTP after ceasefire announcement
Monday, March 3rd, 2014 10:29:27 by Hunain Naseer
The Pakistan government has officially announced that strikes against the militant outfit TTP will be stopped since the latter announced a month-long ceasefire in the interest of peace talks.
Government officials had last week made it clear that the country will not tolerate militant operations and the TTP will have to offer an unconditional ceasefire if they wish for peace talks to continue. The statement was made by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and reiterated by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan.
After the TTP ceasefire on Saturday, Chaudhry Nisar, in consultation with the Prime Minister and the Chief of Army Staff General Raheel, formally announced the suspension of surgical strikes against the group.
The decision is taken to show the government’s willingness to reach a peaceful solution to issues with the TTP. However, the government made it clear that any violations of the ceasefire will be met with equal retaliation by security forces.
Earlier, the government had formed a negotiation committee to engage in peace talks with the Taliban outfit; however, the TTP continued to carry out militant operations against the government and people of Pakistan, which led to a breakdown in the peace talks.
Now, after both sides have agreed to a ceasefire, it is to be expected that peace talks will continue positively.
Tags: Pakistan, Peace Talks, TTPShort URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=42852