Secret direct talks to be held with Taliban

ISLAMABAD: The government has decided to hold direct secret talks with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in the next phase of interaction with the outlawed outfit to rid the country of terrorism and violence. Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan will spearhead the new move by the government, including the formation of a larger committee to hold talks with the Taliban. The proposed committee will work under the supervision of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The prime minister received the members of the government and Taliban committees at the PM House for breakfast on Thursday morning before proceeding to Lahore and had a detailed discussion with them about the state of affairs regarding the government-TTP contacts in a candid manner. The government is sticking to its earlier position for the continuation of the dialogue with the TTP despite the recent gruesome terror incidents in different parts of the country where several innocent persons lost their lives. Well-placed sources told The News that the committees, which were constituted last month, have not formally been dissolved but their existence is no longer of any consequence and they had become irrelevant in the emerging scenario. The breakfast meeting was attended by all members of the two committees and Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Secretary to Prime Minister Javed Aslam, and Prime Minister’s Political Secretary Dr Asif Kirmani. The prime minister is interested in the early conclusion of the negotiations and a settlement. He has always said he wished to resolve the matter through talks and avoid the option of an operation. The sources said that backdoor channels would continue to work as this policy has yielded positive results so far, including a ceasefire from the TTP. Irfan Siddiqui, who headed the government committee, and Maulana Samiul Haq, who was leading the TTP committee, spoke to the media after their meeting with the prime minister. The Maulana said that he agreed with the prime minister that a new strategy was needed to make effective the decision-making process in the next phase while Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, talking to his guests, said that bringing peace and the protection of life and property of the people were the top priorities of his government. The prime minister said Pakistan cannot progress and develop without peace. He said Pakistan had suffered heavily due to violence and terrorism. “Now it is vital to bring in peace so that the country’s stature in the world comity is restored and a pleasant revolution is brought about in the life of the common man,” the premier said. According to a statement issued from the PM House, Nawaz Sharif said that being the prime minister of the country, it was his constitutional, religious, national, moral and civic responsibility to put an end to this game of fire and fury and bring peace to the country and the people. The prime minister vowed that he wouldn’t shy away from discharging his responsibilities. The consultation, communication and advice of the committees would continue in the new phase of decision making. Maulana Samiul Haq, while lauding the prime minister’s commitment for a peaceful resolution, said that the members of the committee stood with the government in this regard. The Maulana said that with the personal guidance, interest and sincerity of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the situation would soon improve and with Allah’s blessing there would be peace in the country. Earlier, Irfan Siddiqui briefed the prime minister about the meeting of the two committees held earlier at Akora Khattak. The meeting was attended by members of the Taliban committee Maulana Samiul Haq, Professor Muhammad Ibrahim and Maulana Yousaf, while those from the government committee included Irfan Siddiqui, Major (retd) Aamir, Rustam Shah Mohmand and Rahimullah Yusufzai. Meanwhile, a source said Maulana Samiul Haq, accompanied by Rustam Shah Mohmand, will fly by a government helicopter into North Waziristan in a day or two to urge the TTP to ensure complete halt to violations of the ceasefire they have announced. They will also discuss with the TTP Shura (advisory council) other issues for initiation of decisive peace talks. It transpired in a meeting of the members of the two committees, formed by the government and the Taliban, with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday, according to a participant. Like before, he said, the Interior Ministry will facilitate Samiul Haq’s journey to North Waziristan by providing a helicopter. Whether it is Ahrarul Hind, Ansarul Mujahideen or some splinter or affiliated group of the TTP that is continuing with terrorist activities, it is the prime responsibility of the Taliban to ensure that no defiance of the ceasefire takes place, the government side stressed in the session. It expressed the view that it was not sufficient on the part of the TTP to disown terrorist attacks. Similarly, mere condemnation is also not enough, and rather they should play their positive role to get all these acts halted forthwith. The participant told The News that the government side urged Samiul Haq to get a clear explanation from the TTP about the terrorist strikes that took place even after the announcement of the truce. The underlying idea is that once the TTP dissociates from these groups completely, the government would then be free to attack these groups, despite a ceasefire with the TTP. Samiul Haq told the meeting that he would have to travel to North Waziristan to take up with the Taliban decision-makers this issue, among others, so that a meaningful dialogue was accelerated. He suggested that a member of the government committee should also go with him. An agreement, in principle, was reached on Rustam Shah Mohmand’s name, the source said. He said the prime minister was worried over the recurring terrorist incidents and emphasised that such alarming activities tend to seriously mar the conducive environment for the peace process. The source said Nawaz Sharif would not take too long to constitute a fully empowered and mandated committee any time, possibly during the current week, so that the parleys started without any delay. The participant said the prime minister did not hint at the members of his new committee. It is entirely up to him to pick up negotiators to hold talks in the decision-making phase, he said. To a question about the direct involvement and inclusion of a senior military representative in the next government committee, he said the Pakistan Army has been fully participating, though indirectly, in the parleys that the government body held with the forum, headed by Samiul Haq. “Since the word go, the prime minister consulted the top military brass about the formation of the present committee and kept briefing it about the negotiations being held with the TTP representatives,” the source said. Not only this, he said, the army always gave its input to make the peace process a success. Although, no member of the two committees directly met with any army general, they kept getting their opinion and ideas indirectly, he said. Moreover, the source said, not only Nawaz Sharif but also Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who played a leading role in the back channel contacts to secure the ceasefire, always talked to the army leadership about different stages of the peace process. He said it was not so far clear whether the Taliban would form a new committee or continue to fall back on the current body, but believed that it was likely that a new forum comprising senior TTP leaders would be put in place. The source said the current TTP committee would continue to face the handicap of lack of on-the-spot decisions and will have to go back to the Taliban again and again to get their reaction on the points raised by the government side during the future negotiations. The Taliban representatives, he said, should now be in place to take decisions during the parleys, and only then the process will get a fillip. On the other hand, he said, the next official body would have all the necessary powers to adequately respond to the demands expressed by the TTP representatives. He said that the dialogue process would be result-oriented and expeditious only when both the committees would be fully empowered to take decisions. In some cases, he said, they can go back to their bosses for instructions. Pressure is, however, mounting that a deadline for talks to end must be set so that all sides get serious and not play delaying games.