Afghan Taliban broker ceasefire between rival TTP factions

The ceasefire will hold until August 12.

MIRANSHAH: The Afghan Taliban claimed on Friday they have brokered a ceasefire between two rival factions of the Pakistani Taliban, halting a fresh wave of infighting that had killed more than 60 people.

The deadly bout of violence erupted earlier this month between supporters of commander Khan Said Sajna and followers of the late Hakimullah Mehsud in the restive tribal areas of North Waziristan.

Both factions are part of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) umbrella group.

Pamphlets distributed on Friday in Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan, noted that the ceasefire would hold until August 12.

Written in the native Pushto language, it said the ceasefire was brokered by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the formal name of the Afghan Taliban's 1996-2001 government in Kabul.

A senior commander of one of the Pakistani factions confirmed the deal.

"We will strictly follow the ceasefire," the commander of the Khan Sajna group told AFP.

The infighting began after Sajna, a senior commander, was rejected for the TTP leadership following the killing of then-leader Mehsud last November, militants say.

The TTP has long been riven by infighting.

Sajna had been seen as a strong candidate to become TTP chief following Mehsud's death.

But the movement's ruling council at the last minute elected Mullah Fazlullah, who hails from Swat and is believed to be hiding in Afghanistan.

Friday's announcement follows a similar announcement earlier in April where a jirga had reportedly brokered a month long ceasefire between the two groups.