PAKISTAN TALIBAN EXTENDS CEASEFIRE IN TALKS BROKERED BY KABUL
The Pakistan Taliban says it is extending a ceasefire with the government until May 30, after the two sides held an initial round of talks hosted by Taliban rulers in neighbouring Afghanistan. The spokesman for the armed group, Mohammad Khurasani, on Wednesday said the talks between the Pakistani Taliban and the Islamabad government were facilitated by Afghanistan’s new Taliban rulers. The Taliban in Kabul also confirmed the talks and the extension of the ceasefire.
The Pakistani group known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, TTP, is separate but allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban, who seized power in their country last August. Emboldened by the Taliban takeover, the TTP has over the past months stepped up attacks against government forces, especially along the mountainous border with Afghanistan.
