Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, while referring to the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), reiterated on Monday that the government will only talk to those who respect the Constitution and the law of Pakistan, saying "otherwise, we have battled before and will do again".

His remarks came three days after the TTP announced an end to a month-long ceasefire with the government and accused it of failing to honour the decisions reached earlier.

The two sides, according to the agreement, had accepted that the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” (IEA) would play the role of a mediator and that both sides would form five-member committees each which, under the supervision of the mediator, would discuss the next course of action and demands of each sides.

Both sides had also agreed to observe a month-long ceasefire from Nov 1 to Nov 30, 2021 and that the government would release 102 “imprisoned mujahideen” and hand them over to the TTP through the IEA.

In their statement on Dec 9, the banned TTP said the government had not only failed to implement the decisions reached between the two sides, security forces had conducted raids in Dera Ismail Khan, Lakki Marwat, Swat, Bajaur, Swabi and North Waziristan and killed and detained militants.

“Under these circumstances, it is not possible to extend the ceasefire,” the TTP said.

Addressing a gathering in Lahore today, the information minister said the [Afghan] Taliban government had once again pressed the TTP to abide by the [ceasefire] agreement. "And I think their advice is sane," he added.

'Attitude of judges main reason for weak criminal justice system'

Earlier in his talk, the minister identified "the attitude of judges" towards the criminal justice system as a big reason for its deterioration.

"The judiciary has not shown as much concern on the matter as it should have."

Chaudhry said chief justices came for a little time and they couldn't undertake judicial reforms alone. He said the coordination between senior police officers and the judiciary was key to bringing in reforms the system needed.

He referred to the recent report of Transparency International, saying "it termed judiciary and police as corrupt institutions in the public eye".

The minister said it was unfortunate that "we did not move towards police and judicial reforms".

"It is vital to have reforms in our police, prosecution system, judiciary and prisons to overhaul our criminal justice system," he added.