He had secretly made himself health, finance and resources minister between 2020 and 2021
A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban says the militant group will not extend a cease-fire agreed to a month ago and accuses the government of not honouring the deal by failing to release 102 of their fighters
The Pakistani Taliban said on Thursday that they will not extend a ceasefire agreed to last month, accusing the government in Islamabad of not honouring the truce and failing to release 102 of their fighters.
The militant group, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has been behind numerous attacks on Pakistani security forces and civilians over the last 14 years. TTP was also behind a 2014 attack on an army-run school in the northwestern city of Peshawar that killed 154 people, mostly schoolchildren.
They are a separate group from the Taliban in Afghanistan, who took over that country in August. However, the two groups are close allies and TTP leaders and fighters have over the years sought sanctuary across the border in Afghanistan.
A statement from TTP spokesman Mohammad Khurasani claimed that despite the agreement on the ceasefire — which went into effect on November 9 and was meant to give time for peace talks between the two sides — government forces are continuing to carry out operations against the group. The truce expires at midnight.
“It is not possible to carry on with the ceasefire in these circumstances,” Khurasani said.
There was no immediate comment from the Pakistani authorities.
The Pakistani Taliban have been emboldened by the return to power of the Taliban in Afghanistan and there have been concerns of renewed violence within Pakistan. About a million people were displaced when Pakistan launched operations in the northwest in 2013 to clear out TTP fighters. They returned to their homes after 2017, when Pakistan claimed victory against the militants.
He had secretly made himself health, finance and resources minister between 2020 and 2021
'The consequences may also hit those who remain silent so far', he said
It was located inside a shopping mall
It has been a year since the group took power in Afghanistan
Lawyers for the WikiLeaks founder allege the agency recorded their conversations and copied data from their phones and computers
'It was not free and fair', says protestor
Nuclear experts fear fighting might damage Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant’s spent fuel pools or reactors
UK has recorded more than 3,000 cases, 70% of them in London