Pakistani Taliban announce 3-day ceasefire with security forces on Eid al-Adha holiday

Lina Portman3 weeks ago

4 1 minute read

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A key Pakistani militant group behind numerous gun and bomb attacks announced a rare ceasefire Sunday with security forces during the Muslim holiday of Eid al -Adha.

Eid al-Adha will be celebrated on Monday in Pakistan, amid a surge in violence.

The ceasefire announcement would allow worshipers to attend Eid prayers at mosques and in open areas without fearing militant attacks.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, which is a separate group but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, said in a statement that it had decided to announce a ceasefire at the request of the Pakistani people.

The TTP said its fighters would defend themselves if attacked by security forces. The TTP has been emboldened since the Afghan Taliban seized power in neighboring Afghanistan in August 2021, when US and NATO troops were in the final stages of their withdrawal from the country after 20 years.

This is the second time the TTP has announced a ceasefire, following 2021. This ceasefire ended in 2022. Since then, the Pakistani Taliban have intensified their attacks, straining ties between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban government, as Islamabad says. TTP leaders are hiding in Afghanistan.

Pakistan also claims the TTP is using Afghan soil to carry out attacks in Pakistan, a charge the TTP and Kabul deny.