Taliban declare truce in SWA

WANA: Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, who has been blamed for assassination of PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto, has declared an indefinite ceasefire with government forces. "Baitullah (Mehsud) has ordered an 'indefinite' truce following months of clashes in the North and South Waziristan and neighbouring tribal regions," said Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan spokesman Maulvi Omar on Wednesday. However, the military spokesman said they were not aware of any truce and vowed that operations against militants in the rugged region near the Afghan border would continue. "We have announced ceasefire for an indefinite period because the government stopped attacking us," Omar, the spokesman, told a foreign news agency by telephone from an undisclosed location. "Baitullah Mehsud has ordered his people to stop attacks against security forces from Waziristan