After months of deadly clashes and failed peace talks, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud, has indicated that his group is open to a ceasefire with Islamabad. In a message on Saturday, reported by Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper, Mehsud said that “We held talks with Pakistan mediated by Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan. We are still open to the ceasefire agreement.”
The Islamist militant group Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has been engaged in an over two-decades long war against the Pakistani state. In June 2022, the Taliban in Afghanistan brokered a truce between the TTP and the Pakistani government, which the armed group ended in November 2022, ordering its fighters to resume attacks in Pakistan.
Pakistan has recently accused the Afghan rulers of providing hideouts for the TTP and has threatened to target them unless they are dismantled.
