Pakistani Taliban Declares End to Ceasefire
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The Pakistani Taliban formally ended a 40-day ceasefire but is still open to talks with the government, according to a spokesman for the group.
Shahidullah Shahid said on Wednesday the Pakistani Taliban was not extending the ceasefire, which began on March 1, because the government had continued to arrest people and killed more than 50 people associated with the group, Al Jazeera reported.
"However, the talks will continue with sincerity and seriousness and in case there is clear progress from the government side, [the Taliban] will not hesitate to take a serious step," he said in a statement.
The announcement comes three days after Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Pakistan's interior minister, said the process was about to enter a "comprehensive" phase.
Peace talks between the Taliban and the government of Nawaz Sharif began in February but the first round ended in violence.
The Pakistani government has released a few low-level non-combatant prisoners, but the Taliban want hundreds of men released and the army to pull back from tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.
South Waziristan is one of seven semi-autonomous areas along the Afghan border that are havens for the fighters.
Talks were a key campaign pledge for Sharif before he was elected to the prime minister's office for a third time last year.
