Not disappointed with peace talks after NWA strikes: Maulana Yusuf

ISLAMABAD: Taliban nominated peace negotiator and coordinator of the team Maulana Yusuf Shah said on Thursday that he is hopeful to yield results through dialogue process even after Pakistan Air Force (PAF) strikes in North Waziristan that killed 35 militants, Geo News reported.

While talking to Geo News, Maulana Yusuf said that they are reviewing the situation post NWA strikes and the members of the negotiating team will soon hold consultations over the matter.

He stressed on the need to hold joint dialogue for ceasefire and other issues pertaining to national security.

Maulana Yusuf said that they want to save the country from devastation that would follow the operation, and said that they want to restore peace at any cost.

It is pertinent to mention that PAF jets bombed Taliban hideouts in a northwestern tribal district early Thursday morning, killing 35 local and foreign militants a day after the insurgents offered a ceasefire if the army stopped targeting them, security officials said.

The attacks focused on the town of Mir Ali and surrounding areas of North Waziristan.

On Wednesday, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) peace mediators said they were ready to observe a ceasefire to allow the resumption of peace talks, provided Pakistani security forces stopped killing and arresting them.

A huge cache of arms and ammunition have also been destroyed, the official said.

Peace talks between the Taliban and the government, announced on January 29, stalled this week due to a recent surge in insurgent attacks and a claim by a Taliban faction on Sunday that it had killed 23 kidnapped soldiers.

Government mediators set a ceasefire as a precondition for another round of talks.