Miramshah (Pakistan), Aug. 23 : The Taliban has declared a unilateral ceasefire in North Waziristan during the fasting month of Ramazan.

Taliban commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur’s spokesmnan, Ahmadullah Ahmadi, called local journalists from an undisclosed location and said the outfit has decided to shun its operations for the next 40 days. “The Taliban will not attack security forces during this period,” Ahmadi said.

Ahmadi said the ceasefire would be observed ten days after Eid to maintain the sanctity of the holy month, the Dawn reports.

The Orakzai chapter of the Taliban has also announced a unilateral ceasefire.

Taliban’s Orakzai spokesperson spoke to journalists over the phone and said the decision to halt the offensive was taken by the Taliban leadership.

He also said Taliban sharia courts in the agency would be closed from today (Wednesday) until the 10th day of Eid.

The move comes as a surprise after Taliban vowed to avenge the reported death of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud in a US drone attack. (ANI)