KARACHI: The ceasefire announced by the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on March 1 for a month and later extended by 10 days ended on Thursday with no word whether it would hold any further. TV channels reported earlier in the day that a meeting of the TTP shura was under way to take a decision on the issue. The report turned out to be unsubstantiated.

According to a source, the TTP shura will meet on Friday (today) to discuss if the peace talks with a government-appointed committee has made any progress. The 10-day extension in the truce was announced by the Taliban after a number of people said to be associated with militants were set free as a goodwill gesture.

It condemned the bomb blasts in Islamabad fruit and vegetable market and at Sibi and declared that such attacks were `haram’. It also said that attacks targeting innocent civilians were un-Islamic, indicating it may prefer to give another extension to the ceasefire.