Pakistan Taliban call off ceasefire

Islamabad, Pakistan - Pakistan’s Taliban said on Monday they have called off a shaky ceasefire agreed with the government in June and ordered fighters to stage attacks across the country.

Tehreek–e-taliban Pakistan (TTP), a separate entity to the Taliban in Afghanistan but sharing a similar Islamist ideology, have been responsible for dozens of violent attacks and hundreds of deaths across Pakistan since emerging in 2007.

“As military operations are ongoing against mujahideen in different areas ... so it is imperative for you to carry out attacks wherever you can in the entire country,” it said in a statement.

The TTP held sway over vast tracts of Pakistan’s tribal belt for a time, imposing a radical version of Islamic law. Its fighters were largely driven out of Pakistan into Afghanistan but have been emboldened by the Afghan Taliban’s return to power in Kabul.