Fawad confirms agreement between TTP and government on 'complete ceasefire'

Federal Information Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said on Monday the government had reached an agreement with the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on a complete ceasefire.

Fawad told the state-run Pakistan Television that talks between the two sides were under way as per the Constitution. “They will focus on state sovereignty, national security, peace, social and economic stability in the areas concerned,” he said. 

The negotiations were facilitated by the interim Afghan government, he added.

Last month, Prime Minister Imran Khan had told TRT World that the government was in talks with some groups of the banned TTP for reconciliation.

“I do not believe in military solutions,” the PM elaborated. “I’m anti-military solutions. So I always believe, as a politician, political dialogue is the way ahead which I always believe was the case in Afghanistan.”

Referring to TTP attacks on the country’s armed forces, the prime minister said they was just a “spate of attacks”.

"We might not reach a conclusion in the end, but for now, we are in talks," the prime minister revealed.

Responding to the question whether the Afghan Taliban were aiding the reconciliation process, he said: “Since the negotiations were taking place in Afghanistan, in that sense, yes.”

Earlier, the South China Morning Post claimed that the Afghan Taliban in Kabul is trying to initiate talks between Pakistan and Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan after Islamabad offered conditional amnesty for surrendering militants.

Similarly, President Arif Alvi said on September 11 that a general amnesty could be offered to the TTP. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi reiterated this in an interview on September 15 too.

He said the government will be open to giving a pardon to TTP members if they promise not to indulge in terrorist activities and abide by the Pakistan law.