**Taliban offer ceasefire to new government **
ISLAMABAD: The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the outlawed umbrella of militant groups blamed for most violence in the country, said late Wednesday that they do not rule out a ‘ceasefire’ if the new government ‘shows seriousness’ to their dialogue offer.
The ultraconservative group had also offered ‘conditional dialogue’ to the previous ruling coalition in February only to withdraw it after they did not receive a ‘positive’ response.
Now, TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan says if the incoming government takes the Taliban talks offer seriously, his group will also come up with a positive response.
“If they [the new government] takes our dialogue offer seriously and makes some progress, then we could also stop attacks,” Ehsan told The Express Tribune by the phone from undisclosed location.
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Sounds an intersting development and apparently the ball is now in Sharif’s court. Would be interesting to see how he moves ahead with the Taliban.