Taliban rescinds offer of talks with Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan - The Pakistani Taliban on Monday withdrew its offer of holding peace talks with the government, saying that the authorities were not serious about following through with negotiations.

The Taliban statement came as a pair of suicide bombers attacked a court complex in Peshawar. The Taliban claimed responsibility. One of the attackers was shot to death, but the other detonated his explosives in a packed courtroom, killing four people and wounding more than 40.

The Taliban has been waging a bloody insurgency against the government for more than five years, killing thousands.

The group first said it was open to negotiations at the end of last year in a letter sent to a newspaper and a video released by Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud.

Rehman Malik, who was interior minister until the government's term ended over the weekend, said in February that Islamabad was ready to hold peace talks, and appeared to drop a demand that the Taliban fighters lay down their weapons and renounce violence before negotiations - a condition rejected by the militants.

Politicians from the country's main political parties also called for peace talks with the Taliban in February, at a meeting held in Islamabad to discuss the issue.

But Pakistani Taliban spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan said in a video sent to reporters Monday that the group "has temporarily postponed the offer of negotiations" after an "unserious response" by the government. He accused the army of continuing its war against the Taliban in order to receive U.S. military aid.

He called on Pakistanis to boycott national elections in May, saying Islamic law should be enforced instead. He also advised people to avoid rallies by the Pakistan People's Party, which led the latest government, and by two other parties that have opposed the militants.

In the court compound attack, militants were confronted by three police guards, said police officer Masood Afridi. The militants shot and wounded the police, but one guard gunned down a suicide bomber. The other bomber managed to get into a courtroom and detonated his explosives, said Afridi. Four people were killed and 47 wounded, including the judge.