Step forward: TTP talks move to Miranshah

NOWSHERA / ISLAMABAD: Jamaat-e-Islami leader Professor Mohammad Ibrahim and Jamiat Ulema Islam-Samiul Haq group (JUI-S) spokesperson Maulana Yousaf Shah reached Miranshah on Saturday to speak to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leadership, Express News reported. Professor Ibrahim is a member of the TTP-appointed committee for peace talks and Shah is the coordinator of the committee. They arrived in Miranshah in a helicopter provided by the interior ministry today. Earlier today, Shah told Express News that peace talks will continue once TTP’s stance on the Constitution of Pakistan and Shariah law is known. He stated that the Taliban leadership had not informed the TTP committee about their position on conducting dialogue within the parameters of the Constitution yet, further adding that the peace talks will progress once the TTP’s stance is known. On February 6, in the first round of talks between the government-nominated team of negotiators and Taliban-nominated intermediaries, it was proposed that talks will be held within the parameters of Constitution. It was agreed that all dialogue will be held within the parameters of Pakistan’s Constitution. A day later, however, the Lal Masjid prayer-leader Maulana Abdul Aziz, who is one of the members of the TTP committee, had announced that he has parted from the peace talks. He added that the negotiations may be delayed because the government wants the dialogue to be conducted within the limits of the Constitution but the Taliban believe only in the Quran and Sunnah. He would remain part of the TTP’s three-man delegation led by fellow cleric Maulana Samiul Haq, unless told otherwise, but would not come to the negotiating table, he had further stated. The committees The four-member committee appointed by the government comprises Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Affairs Irfan Siddiqui, former ISI official Major (retd) Muhammad Amir, senior journalist Rahimullah Yousufzai as well as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader and former Pakistan ambassador to Afghanistan Rustam Shah Mohmand. The three-member committee named by the TTP includes Jamaat-e-Islami leader Prof Mohammad Ibrahim, JUI-S chief Maulana Samiul Haq and Maulana Abdul Aziz.