Govt To Give TTP A 'Chance' If It Respects Constitution, Says Information Minister

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry has said that the government wants to give the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) a chance if it wants to give up violence. He added that if the citizens plead their allegiance to the Constitution, it is the government's responsibility to allow them to do so.

Earlier on Monday, the information minister had announced that the government and the TTP had reached a ceasefire agreement.

While talking to media persons in Islamabad today (Tuesday), the minister insisted that the negotiations will take place within the ambit of the constitution.

Fawad Chaudhry added that there are several groups that exist within the TTP. "Some of them are ideologues, while others joined the group under compulsion," he said. The minister also said that the Taliban officials in Afghanistan wanted to see a deal being signed between Pakistan and the TTP.

Referring to the Taliban government in Afghanistan, he said that the Afghan officials also wanted peace in Pakistan. Further, Chaudhry said that Pakistan wanted to dispel the narrative that wars are meant to be fought 'infinitely'.