Have we learned nothing?
A day before talks with the TTP nominated committee started, Peshawar chapter Taliban chief owned the attacks in the city that had killed nine besides targeting a Shia leader on Tuesday. This despite an earlier denial by TTP spokesman Shahidullh Shahid of the network’s involvement in the killings. The government needs to realise that it would be a folly to rely on any statement or promise of the militant organisation. The more so in the case of the TTP nominated committee which is no more than a dummy. Its members have no power to act independently or persuade the TTP to take a moderate position. On Wednesday committee member Maulana Abdul Aziz told media that Taliban wanted to have a meeting with their nominated committee and committee members were deliberating to visit Waziristan or call Taliban near Peshawar for a meeting. A report in a national daily claimed that Abdul Aziz had asked the government to provide a helicopter to the TTP monitoring group. Why waste time on a committee which cannot take decisions independently. In fact there is little sense in holding talks with either the A team or B team.
Samiur Rehman has let the cat out of the bag. He has claimed the Pakistani Taliban were fighting war for the implementation of constitution which, according to him, has been violated by Pakistan’s leadership. Further that it was “everyone’s demand” for Sharia to be enforced. The real issue according to him is to bring Pakistan out of the US war. Thus in one stroke the self-styled “father of the Taliban” has endorsed the TTP’s demand for Sharia as well as the militants’ method of armed struggle to achieve the end. In other words we are required to congratulate the TTP for attacks on innocent civilians, minorities and army which it is supposedly conducting to enforce the Sharia. One wonders what is left to talk about after that.
The first round of talks between the government committee and the TTP committee has ended. Both sides have put up demands. The government side insists that talks be held within the framework of the constitution and their scope be limited to the insurgency hit areas of Pakistan. Further that that all activities which may affect peace efforts should immediately be stopped, and that talks should be smoothly concluded in a short timeframe. The government negotiators also sought clarification regarding the scope and authority of both the TTP teams. The TTP team urged the government to clarify the mandate and level of authority of its four-member committee and its ability to implement a peace pact. The Taliban team also demanded that their meetings be held with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the army chief and the DG ISI. The Taliban team is now expected to travel to Waziristan to convey the progress of the negotiations to the TTP leadership. A tough message is likely to come from Waziristan. That should provide the government an opportunity to call off the exercise.