Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif chaired a high-level preparatory meeting on Tuesday to discuss the change of tone by chief of banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and talks with the terrorist group, besides fine-tuning the agenda for Nawaz-Obama meeting due on October 23.
The significance of the meeting has doubled following an important announcement by TTP chief Hakimulllah Mehsud the same day, who said neither the TTP nor the government should put preconditions for the dialogue process.
In a statement issued from Waziristan, Mehsud said there should be no pre-conditions for holding peace talks from either side. The TTP chief opined that it would be foolish to present any condition before engaging in the proposed dialogue. “Neither the Taliban nor Pakistan government should put forth pre-conditions for the dialogue …. If the government wants the TTP to declare a ceasefire, it would first have to get the drone strikes stopped,” the statement added.
An official statement, however, said the prime minister was briefed on issues pertaining to national security. “The meeting also reviewed the overall security situation of the country,” the handout added without giving further details.
Minister for Interior Nisar Ali Khan, Adviser to PM on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, COAS General Ashfaq Kayani, Special Assistant to PM Tariq Fatemi and Lt Gen Zaheerul Islam, the ISI DG, attended the meeting, the statement added.
Sources, however, said the dialogue process with the TTP was discussed at length and the political and military leadership exchanged their notes over the subject. Moreover, the situation in Afghanistan was also discussed and the leadership discussed the US withdrawal from Afghanistan due next year and the situation in post-US withdrawal scenario.
“Also, the meeting also agreed to build a strong case for raising the issue of drones during the upcoming meeting of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif with US President Barack Obama scheduled to be held on October 23 – a major conditionality set by the TTP for holding talks with Pakistan government,” the sources added.
This would be the first official of Nawaz to the US during which the PM would have his first meeting with President Obama. He is also scheduled to meet other US officials. During his recent visit to the US in September to attend the United Nations Security Council meeting, US Secretary of State John Kerry had met Nawaz and extended a formal invitation on behalf of Obama.
Multiple sources told Pakistan Today that most of the matters to be discussed as agenda for prime minister’s meeting with President Obama had already been settled during the recent visit to Pakistan by US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan James F Dobbins.
Dobbins completed his visit on Monday and held a series of meetings to discuss US-Pakistani relations, regional security, and Afghanistan during his meetings with Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan, Adviser to PM Sartaj Aziz and Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani.
During the preparatory meeting, the prime minister and his team took up issues pertaining to the recent developments regarding the dialogue process with the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The political and security leadership also discussed various options to deal with the situation. Pakistan-US strategic dialogue with the US also was reviewed and the developments by different working groups were also discussed.
Besides the security aspect, Nawaz is likely to discuss economic cooperation between Pakistan and the US with Obama, while energy shortage will also feature in talks.
“Pakistan is likely to press the US leadership for softening its stance over the Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline,” a source said, adding that the prime minister would also seek US assistance in building major dams and assistance in civil nuclear energy. During the meeting with Nawaz last month, US Secretary of State Kerry had hoped that high-level interaction between the two sides would provide the necessary impetus to move towards a long term Pakistan-US engagement.