No progress in negotiations, CTD center Bannu still seized by terrorists

We asked government to shift prisoners to South/North Waziristan but no positive response so far, TTP

After more than 15 hours have passed since the terrorists seized the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) building in Bannu the armed suspects were still not ready to surrender and release the hostages.

The detained terrorists in the counter-terrorism department building in Bannu had taken the building hostage and took the investigators hostage and demanded their safe transfer to Afghanistan while two security personnel were injured in the clash that continued till late in the night.

On Monday the situation remained tense in Bannu with police and security agencies cordoning off Bannu Cantt. Militants had managed to get out of the lock-up and took security personnel hostage at a detention center.

The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for the incident. A TTP spokesman said in a statement that its members took CTD staff and security personnel hostage. “Our people demanded safe passage in their video statement but mistakenly mentioned Afghanistan,” the militant group’s spokesman added.

“We held talks and talks with government officials throughout the night and asked them to shift the prisoners to South or North Waziristan but regrettably no positive response was given so far,” he said.

Special Assistant to the Chief Minister on Information Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif said in his statement that no progress has been made so far in the ongoing talks between the government and the militants and the armed suspects were not ready to surrender and release the hostages in CTD center Bannu.

Barrister Saif also said that the tense situation still remained the same and there had been no progress in this matter. He said that he was in constant touch with the top leadership of the Taliban.