Pakistani Taliban fighters announced a ceasefire on Wednesday after months of clashes with security forces and suicide attacks across the north-west of the country. But a military spokesperson said that while fighting had died down no truce had been agreed.
Pakistani security forces killed 23 Taliban fighters and lost seven of their own men during clashes on Monday, according to an army officer, while a Taliban spokesperson said 17 troopers were captured. Residents in Mohmand said the army had opened up with artillery and helicopter gunships after the Taliban ambushed a paramilitary troop convoy.
Benazir Bhutto’s party challenged official versions of the opposition leader’s assassination and accused the government on Saturday of trying to cover up failures just days before planned elections. Meanwhile, al-Qaeda-linked militants denied being behind the killing of the 54-year-old former prime minister.
