TTP 'still amenable' to ceasefire, says leader.

PESHAWAR -- The banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan's (TTP) leader, Mufti Noor Wali Mehsood, has indicated that his outfit is still amenable to a ceasefire agreement with the government.

'We held talks with Pakistan mediated by Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan. We are still open to the ceasefire agreement,' Mehsood said in a message on Saturday.

The statement indicated that the TTP sought guidance from religious scholars, saying: 'If you find anything mislaid, any negligence or if you believe we have changed our course - you, being our teachers and religious scholars, [should] guide us the same way as you guided us earlier. We are ready to listen to your opinion.'

On January 4, TTP's supreme council...