Pakistani Taliban demand release of 400 captives

Maulana Samiul Haq, a member of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)-nominated negotiating committee for peace talks said Thursday that the Taliban have demanded the release of up to 400 prisoners.

Speaking at a press conference in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Nowshera district, Haq said that regardless of peace talks, women and children should not be held captives, Dawn online reported.

The first round of direct peace talks between the Pakistan government and the TTP leadership concluded Wednesday on a satisfactory note.

Both sides, during the talks which were held at an undisclosed location in the North Waziristan tribal region, reportedly agreed on several issues.

Haq also said that the exchange of demands should continue between the two committees and that the Taliban's nominated committee would meet with the government team Friday for the holding of talks.

He said that both the government and the Taliban had agreed on taking the mediation process to its logical conclusion and expressed the hope that the process of goodwill gestures would begin soon.