A top Taleban commander in Pakistan has halted peace talks with the government, his spokesman says.
Last week Baitullah Mehsud ordered a ceasefire amid reports that he was close to reaching a peace deal with the new government.
But his spokesman says talks have broken down because the government refuses to order troops out of the tribal areas by the Afghan border.
It would seem to me that having Pakistan withdraw its troops from South Waziristan before a deal is reached with Mehsud would provide the militant leader with a significant advantage. But maybe that's just me.
My headline may be a bit misleading. Read on:
However the spokesman said that they did not plan to start fighting again at this stage.
"Taleban remain firm in the ceasefire but Mehsud warned that if the government launched any action his fighters would retaliate," Maulvi Omar said.
Okay, so they're not talking, but they aren't shooting either. My mistake.