Standoff continues after Pakistani Taliban men overpower guards, snatch weapons and take hostages at the facility in northwestern Bannu town.
Pakistani authorities have opened talks to try to resolve a standoff with attackers holding several security personnel hostage after seizing control of a counterterrorism facility in the country’s northwest.
Security forces have surrounded the highly fortified military cantonment that houses the interrogation centre in Bannu district, where about 20 fighters from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) – also known as the Pakistani Taliban – are holed up, reports on Monday said.
Pakistan has been fighting an armed rebellion by the TTP since 2007 when it emerged. The group associates itself with Afghanistan’s Taliban and is fighting for the enforcement of their strict interpretation of Islamic law in the country, the release of their members who are in government custody, and a reduction of Pakistani military presence in the country’s former tribal regions.
There has been a surge in attacks on security forces since the TTP pulled out of peace talks with Islamabad last month.
The incident in Bannu erupted late on Sunday and quickly evolved into a standoff.
According to Mohammad Ali Saif, a provincial government spokesman, the attackers were demanding safe passage to Afghanistan.
“We are in negotiations with the central leaders of the Pakistani Taliban in Afghanistan,” the Reuters news agency quoted Saif as saying.
Source: aljazeera.com
