Taliban starts 30-day cease-fire

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — The Pakistani Taliban announced Saturday that the group will observe a one month cease-fire as part of efforts to negotiate a peace deal with the government, throwing new life into a foundering peace process.

Spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said in a statement emailed to reporters that the top leadership of the militant group has instructed all of its units to comply with the cease-fire.

“Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan has initiated talks with the government with sincerity and for good purpose,” Shahid said, referring to the group by its formal name.

The leader of the government’s negotiating team, Irfan Sadiqui, praised the cease-fire announcement on television, saying the government will review any written document from the Taliban about it.

In recent weeks, Pakistani jets and helicopters have been striking militant hideouts in the northwest, after previous efforts at negotiations broke down when a militant faction announced it had killed 23 Pakistani troops.

The Pakistani Taliban has been trying to overthrow the government and establish its own hardline form of Islam across Pakistan for years. Tens of thousands of people have died in militant attacks.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has long promoted negotiations over military operations as a way to end the ongoing crisis. His efforts gained speed this year when both sides announced negotiating teams held initial meetings. But negotiations fell apart after the deaths of the 23 Pakistani troops, and Sharif has been under pressure to retaliate.

Critics of the peace process say militants have used negotiations to simply regroup. They also question whether there is room to negotiate with militants who don’t recognize the constitution.