TTP factions divided over ceasefire extension

PESHAWAR: After a series of meetings, the Taliban Shura did not agree to an extension in the one-month-long ceasefire that ended on March 31. However, some of them say they would like to continue the peace talks with the government even if there was no formal ceasefire in place.
On the other hand, a feared militant commander, the head of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Mohmand Agency, Omar Khalid Khurasani, said his faction would not extend the ceasefire and also threatened to launch attacks against the government. Taliban sources said representatives of various factions of the TTP had been holding meetings for the past few days but could not build a consensus on an extension in the ceasefire.

The Taliban had announced a one-month-long ceasefire in fighting against the government on March 1.According to sources, the Taliban factions were divided over an extension in the ceasefire as some of them pointed out that they weren’t happy with the steps the government had taken to-date.

The TTP spokesman, Shahidullah Shahid, said the process of consultation over an extension in the ceasefire was still going on but till now they could not build a consensus. He said the majority of members of the TTP had reservations over the failure of the government to fulfil its commitment made during the recent rounds of peace talks.

Shahidullah Shahid said they had given a list of 800 civilian prisoners to the government as a test case as they wanted to see how serious and sincere the government was towards the peace process. But, he said, not a single prisoner had been freed so far.

“We were expecting the government would free our civilian prisoners from jails. Instead, it violated the ceasefire and arrested 107 of our people during raids in different villages near Doaba in Hangu district. Besides, three of our men were killed and their bodies dumped in Swat, Karak and Kohat. The bullet-riddled bodies of two of our men were recovered from to Swat while the body of one found in Kohat was from Orakzai Agency,” the TTP spokesman claimed.

Shahidullah Shahid argued that even if the ceasefire was not extended and if the government was serious, they could continue the peace process.Another senior member of the TTP noted that the government had benefited from the ceasefire and sent its security forces to new positions in the tribal areas, which, according to him, would have been difficult for it during normal days.

Pleading anonymity, he said the militant factions from Swat, Dir, Bajaur, Mohmand, Peshawar, etc, weren’t in favour of an extension in the ceasefire.Also, he disputed a statement of the government negotiations committee member Rustam Shah Mohmand that the Taliban had wished but not demanded the release of their prisoners during the peace talks.

“Rustam Shah sahib is a strange person. Wish is something different than demand. We have many wishes in our heart but it would require effort and hard struggle to fulfil any wish. We also wish to capture Islamabad and implement the Sharia there but would Rustam Shah sahib be able to help us,” the Taliban commander said.

Meanwhile, Omar Khalid Khurasani said they wouldn’t extend the ceasefire and would soon begin attacks in the country.

He said the government failed to accept their demands during the peace talks. “There would be more attacks in which common people would suffer as the government isn’t sincere in the peace talks,” he said.Meanwhile, TTP political Shura member Azam Tariq said the TTP spokesman’s statement about ceasefire was not valid as it was not approved by the Shura and media committee.

TTP divided over ceasefire extension

 

PESHAWAR: The members of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) are said to be divided over an extension in the one-month ceasefire that expired on Monday, Taliban sources said.
“There are differences among various factions of the TTP on an extension in the ceasefire it had announced on March 1. Some of the factions are in favour of extending it as long as the peace talks are under way with the government. Others want to resume the attacks and seek revenge for the crackdown on Taliban militants and torture on their prisoners in Sindh province,” a senior leader and Shura member of the TTP told this correspondent from an undisclosed location on Monday.

Pleading anonymity, he said members of the Shura had been holding meetings for the past few days to build a consensus on an extension in the ceasefire but they could not reach a conclusion.

He said the Shura members were divided on the issue and a similar division could be found in the regional factions of the TTP in the tribal areas as well as in the settled districts.

“There is a reason why we are opposing an extension in the ceasefire. The day the government began the peace talks with us, we lost 66 people in fake encounters. Similarly, a day before the first direct meeting of the government and Taliban members in Bilandkhel village, the government shifted 80 of our prisoners from the Karachi Central Jail to Khairpur, Sukkur and Hyderabad prisons. The aim was to annoy the Taliban and sabotage the peace talks,” the Taliban leader claimed.

He felt that by shifting their prisoners to prisons in the interior of Sindh, the government wanted to make it difficult for their relatives and family members to meet them and learn about their condition in jails. He claimed it would also affect the trial of the prisoners in jails.

“We know that the PPP and MQM had been opposing the peace talks but we would like to know if the federal government is supporting the policy of the Sindh government of torturing the Taliban prisoners and shifting them to jails in the interior of Sindh. The federal government will have to explain or it will be difficult for the Taliban to unanimously build a consensus on an extension in the ceasefire,” the TTP leader explained.

Another senior member of the TTP said discussions were in progress about an extension in the ceasefire but no conclusion had yet been reached.He said majority of the Shura members were satisfied with the sincerity of the Nawaz Sharif government in holding the talks. However, he added that the government had no control over certain quarters who were opposed to the peace process. He said they were in touch with the government negotiation committee and would soon announce their future strategy.