Muhammad Khurasani, the spokesperson of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliba Pakistan (TTP) has been killed in Afghanistan, reported Aaj News citing sources.

As per the report, the militant leader, whose real name was Khalid Balti, was killed in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan.

Sources added that Khurasani was active in militancy in the Miranshah area of Pakistan, but fled to Afghanistan after the Pakistan army's Zarb-e-Azab operation in the area.

Khorasani was involved in anti-Pakistan activities and was also running a terrorist organisation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Miranshah district.

Khorasani was appointed as TTP's spokesperson after Shaidullah Shahid and was involved in terror attacks against civilians and armed forces in Pakistan.

According to available information, he was attempting to unite the different factions of TTP and planning terror attacks against Pakistan with TTP chief Mufti Noor Wali Mehsood. Recently he had issued details of terrorist activities in Pakistan and hinted at more such attacks.

As per TTP sources Khalid Balti was the group's former spokesperson and he also used the name Muhammad Khurasani. "Muhammad Khurasani (the current one) is alive".

Last week DG ISPR Major General Babar Iftikhar during his press conference said that operation was being conducted against the banned TTP. Negotiations had been started with the TTP at the request of incumbent Afghan government, he had said.

The military spokesperson said that the banned outfit was a non-state element which could not carry out any major attack in Pakistan.

He said that the Afghan government offered the option of bringing the TTP to the table and persuading them to meet Pakistan's demands.

The government announced late last year it had entered a month-long truce with the TTP, facilitated by Afghanistan's Taliban, but that expired on December 9 after peace talks failed to make progress.