[Dawn] The Pak Taliban has declared a cease-fire to encourage nascent peace talks with the government, a senior commanders said, a move that appears to show the deadly group's willingness to strike a deal with state.The commander said the cease-fire has been in effect for the past month and was valid throughout the country.
"We are not attacking the Pakistain army and government installations because of the grinding of the peace processor," he said late Monday. The commander is close to Hakimullah Mehsud, the leader of the Taliban.
He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not the official front man of the myrmidon network.
His statement adds credence to recent announcements by anonymous Taliban and intelligence officials that government intermediaries recently met Taliban capos to talk about a possible peace deal.
The government has not officially commented, and on Tuesday the Mighty Pak Army denied it was involved in any talks.
The Pakistain Taliban, an umbrella grouping of Islamic fascisti allied with al-Qaeda and based in the northwest close to the Afghan border, has been behind many of the scores of bloody suicide kabooms around Pakistain over the last 4 1/2 years. At least 35,000 people have been killed in the bloodshed.The United States wants Pakistain to keep the pressure on Death Eaters and would likely be concerned about any effort to strike a deal.
Many of its fiercest foes in Afghanistan, as well as al-Qaeda operatives from around the world, live alongside the Pakistain Taliban in North Wazoo.
Much remains unclear about the nature of the talks and their potential. Both the army and the Islamic fascisti have engaged in misinformation before. Some reports have said any deal would only cover one region in the northwest, South Waziristan, but could be extended.
The Pakistain Taliban is believed to be divided. Many of its leaders and foot soldiers have been killed in US drone attacks and Mighty Pak Army offensives over the last few years.
Some faction and allied groups are still committed to war against the state, and there been several myrmidon attacks over the last month.