Cannot succeed without ceasefire: TTP negotiator

Peshawar: Peace talks cannot succeed without a permanent ceasefire and the Pakistani Taliban`s negotiating team will soon meet the banned group`s shura to convince them on the issue, a Taliban negotiating committee member said today.

Taliban negotiating committee coordinator Maulana Yousuf Shah said the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) nominated committee would contact the Taliban leadership (shura) and try to convince them to extend ceasefire. The Taliban had yesterday announced that they will not continue the over month-long ceasefire that expired on April 10. Peace talks cannot succeed without a permanent ceasefire, Shah said. Another member of the Taliban committee Professor Ibrahim Khan said the reservations of group needed to be addressed. He urged the government to show seriousness in dialogue. Khan said meeting with the Taliban leadership would be held very soon. Ibrahim said the government would be informed about the Taliban reservations. However, he said they had not contacted the Taliban as yet. The Nawaz Sharif government had begun negotiations with the TTP through intermediaries in February to try to end the cycle of violence that has claimed over 40,000 lives. Talks were a key campaign pledge for Sharif before he was elected to office for a third time last year.