Pak Taliban says still open to peace talks if govt ends hostility

The Pakistan Taliban has reportedly said that they are still open to the option of peace talks provided the government declares a ceasefire.

The statement comes a day after the Pakistan government gave the green signal to the military asking them to proceed with targeting insurgents in self-defence.

According to the Express Tribune, The TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid and TTP South Waziristan chapter leader Azam Tariq Mehsud said that the group was open for talks but the government needed to stop killing its comrades, adding that since the government started the war against the group, it should declare ceasefire before asking them to do so.

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar had recently announced that the Pakistan prime minister had decided to call off peace talks following an increase in unrest across the country.

Nisar averred that dialogue and violence could not take place side by side, adding that the military had been asked to retaliate in self-defence, which was their right.