TTP declares end to ceasefire

Last month's ceasefire was set to run until Thursday

ISLAMABAD:

The Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) declared an end to a month-long ceasefire, accusing the government of breaching terms, including a prisoner release agreement and the formation of negotiating committees.

Last month's ceasefire, which was always set to run until Thursday with the possibility of extending if both parties agreed, was the latest in a series of attempts to broker a settlement to end a conflict that has killed thousands.

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.

"In these circumstances, it is not possible to advance the ceasefire," the group said in a statement.

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Pakistan and the TTP entered into a truce starting November 9. The ceasefire was the result of a series of meetings held between the Pakistani officials and the TTP representatives in Afghanistan.

The talks were brokered by the Taliban government, particularly the Haqqani Network. Both sides held at least three rounds of talks—one in Kabul and the other two meetings took place in Khost.

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.