Bannu: Tension prevailed in the northwestern Pakistani city of Bannu on Monday night, nearly 24 hours after Pakistani Taliban captives took control of an anti-terrorist center by overpowering guards.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's provincial government announced in a statement that talks have begun with the militants holding several hostages inside the prison as the standoff continues.
The center is located in a cantonment, or a long-term Pakistan Army military installation. On Monday evening, military and civilian police were guarding there and informed Arab News that media were not allowed inside. As far as the eye could see, there were no people or moving cars on the streets outside the base.
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Residents expressed their concern about the incident and claimed that there was a "complete internet shutdown", making it difficult for them to understand what was happening.
The people of the area are in a state of panic and fear; They are unable to communicate with each other, according to Javed Hussein, a 25-year-old medical professional who spoke to Arab News.
Internet services in the area have been suspended. This doesn't happen very often.
Most locals were unaware of the exact situation as a result of the internet block, according to a 32-year-old shopkeeper, who asked not to be named for his safety.
"We don't know what is happening," he told Arab News. Internet has been shut down in the area, which is not usually shut down. Additionally, there is no TV coverage, so the locals are unaware of what is happening.
In a social media video on Monday, members of the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, show one of the hostages held at the facility pleading with law enforcement to end the standoff peacefully shown to have happened. He did not mention the number of parties.
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The anonymous person said, "We appeal to the people to resolve the matter peacefully and we have requested the Taliban to refrain from firing or using force." In the video, at least two men carrying guns can be seen guarding a group.
The TTP confirmed in a statement on Monday that "several army officers and prison staff" had been abducted by inmates of the anti-terrorist facility in Bannu.
According to Mohammad Ali Saif, a spokesman for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, the facility was surrounded, and an operation to regain control of the structure "will be completed soon." He denied claims that the prison had been compromised and claimed that prisoners had taken weapons from their interrogators and freed other prisoners.
He told Reuters that although the TTP has not yet responded to talks that were launched by the authorities to try to end the crisis, relatives of militants and local tribal elders were taking part.
According to Saif, the terrorists killed at least one counter-terrorism officer. He said that many important TTP members were present at the Centre. He omitted to mention the number of security personnel taken hostage.
An intelligence official told Reuters there were six hostages, including two counterterrorism officers and two members of the military.
The hostage situation had arisen a day after the TTP claimed responsibility for the killing of four police officers in the nearby district of Lakki Marwat.
The Pakistani army also reported on Monday night that a suicide bomber had attacked a security convoy in the restive North Waziristan region, killing at least two civilians and a soldier.
Authorities in the city of Khujdar in Balochistan province said 13 people were injured in the explosion at a busy market. The two attacks, which both happened on Monday, have not yet been assigned a perpetrator.
The TTP insurgency is fought by the Pakistani authorities. Although separate from the Afghan Taliban, the group is affiliated with them. This year, the TTP broke a ceasefire and vowed to resume its attacks, later ending efforts to mediate talks between the Pakistani government and the group.
In a statement released on Sunday, the TTP denied media reports that the Bannu hostage-takers were seeking safe passage to Afghanistan and instead said they wanted to be transferred to a tribal region in North or South Waziristan. The group also said that there has been no "positive response" from the government.
According to the TTP, accepting the prisoners' demands and allowing them to travel to North or South Waziristan is the only way to free the abducted military personnel and prison staff.
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The tribal region of North Waziristan, which borders Afghanistan and has long been a haven for militants, lies just outside Bannu district.
Since 2009, Pakistan's military has carried out a number of operations in the tribal areas, forcing militants and their leaders to flee across the border to nearby Afghan districts, where, according to Islamabad, they have established training facilities for organising and carrying out attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul disputes this assertion