Kick-starting dialogue: Govt, TTP panels to devise strategy at today’s session

ISLAMABAD: Taliban intermediaries and government negotiators will meet on Tuesday (today) to devise a strategy for formally kick-starting a much-awaited dialogue process. “Yes, we will hold a preliminary meeting on Tuesday,” Irfan Siddiqui, the government panel’s coordinator, confirmed to The Express Tribune. But he cautioned against treating Tuesday’s interaction as the formal start of dialogue. The four-member committee — comprising Irfan Siddiqui, former ISI official Major (retd) Mohammad Amir, journalist Rahimullah Yusufzai and former ambassador Rustam Shah Mohmand — was formed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on January 29 for initiating peace talks with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). photo 23_zpsfe87d057.jpg In a move exuding positive energy, the TTP named a five-member intermediary team that comprised Jamaat-e-Islami leader Professor Mohammad Ibrahim, JUI-S chief Maulana Samiul Haq, JUI-F politician Mufti Kifayatullah, Lal Masjid khateeb Maulana Abdul Aziz and PTI chief Imran Khan. However, two members of the team – JUI-F’s Mufti Kifayatullah and PTI’s Imran Khan — have declined to be part of the Taliban committee. That leaves only three intermediaries of the Taliban in the line-up. Earlier in the day, Prof. Ibrahim, Maulana Samiul Haq and Maulana Abdul Aziz had an informal session where they decided to contact the government team for devising a mechanism for the proposed talks. Mufti Kifayatullah and Imran didn’t show up at the meeting. “The Taliban have not given [us] any list of demands. Things will become clear once formal negotiations start,” Maulana Samiul Haq told the media after the meeting. Asked about the Taliban’s demand for the enforcement of Islamic Shariah in the country, the JUI-S chief said it was the demand of every Pakistani, and even the country’s Constitution promises this. “This [demand] is not something new,” he added. Maulana Samiul Haq refused to give a timeframe for the dialogue process. “This is perhaps not possible given the complexity of the issue. However, we [both the committees] will try our best to complete our task in the shortest possible time,” he added. photo 24_zps7887529c.jpg In a veiled warning against knee-jerk reactions, the JUI-S chief said, “We have to be very careful because there might be terrorist attacks during the dialogue as several forces will try to sabotage this peace process.” On his part, Prof. Ibrahim parried a question about the mandate of the Taliban committee. “The real issue is not mandate or power. We all are trying to put out the fire the country is engulfed in,” he said. Though the PTI has said that its chief, Imran Khan, won’t become a Taliban intermediary, Maulana Samiul Haq said that he had spoken to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief minister, Pervaiz Khattak, on the phone and the latter ‘assured him of full support’. The JUI-S spokesperson, Maulvi Yousaf Shah, told The Express Tribune that the intermediary committee would contact the Taliban Political Shura after Tuesday’s meeting to know their stand. Political office for TTP K-P Information Minister Shah Farman has assured that if the Taliban wanted to initiate dialogue within the province the PTI-led government would not only provide them security but could also facilitate them in opening a ‘political office’. In a handout issued on Monday, the minister said a ‘TTP political office’ would help in the success of the peace process. Farman said that as a party the PTI was fully involved in the peace process and Rustam Shah Mohmand and Prof. Ibrahim were its representatives. The provincial government, according to him, is ready to extend all-out support for fruitful talks and everyone should keep the country’s interests supreme for this purpose. Published in The Express Tribune, February 4th, 2014.