TTP presents demands for ceasefire

• Government, TTP committees make contact, want to continue talks
• TTP committee says Ch Nisar wants talks to progress
• Govt committee says no decision yet about military operation
• Rustam Shah says the TTP should announce ceasefire, end violent activities and release 100 civilian prisoners to move talks ahead

The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Wednesday put forth their conditions for ceasefire, days after the militant group killed 23 FC soldiers in revenge for the alleged killing of their colleagues.

Speaking from an undisclosed location, TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said that killing and dumping bodies of TTP members should immediately be stopped.

“Our fighters are being targeted, arrested and killed in fake police encounters. The government’s negotiations team should assure our committee that this will immediately stop,” said the TTP spokesman.

Shahidullah Shahid said a ceasefire may be reached if the government assures the committee that their demands will be met.

The TTP spokesman further said that the Mohmand Agency incident was not revenge but a retaliatory action against the killings of TTP activists. He said the security forces had killed 10 TTP activists the same day Mohmand Agency incident occurred.

The dialogue process faltered after a faction of the insurgent group announced on Sunday they had killed 23 kidnapped FC personnel.

The soldiers had been kidnapped from Shongari checkpost in Mohmand tribal region in 2010 and were killed to avenge what the TTP called the custodial killing of their “fighters” in various parts of Pakistan.

Following the killings, the four-member team of the government negotiators had said that it would not be able to carry forward the talks-process in the wake of continuing deadly attacks by the militants.

GOVT, TTP MAKE CONTACT:

The government and the Taliban negotiation committees on Wednesday made contact and both the sides expressed a desire to continue the talks process.

Taliban committee coordinator Maulana Yousaf Shah said in a press conference in Peshawar that contact had been made with the government committee and it does not want the negotiations to break down or get disrupted.

Maulana Yousaf Shah said the government committee members also contacted him, adding that Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar had a detailed telephonic conversation with him.

He said he also talked to the Taliban negotiating committee head Maulana Samiul Haq and discussed with him the latest situation. He said Samiul Haq is in regular contact with the Taliban. Shah thanked the interior minister and appealed to the media to play its role in ‘dousing the fire’.

On the other hand, a member of government committee for talks with the Taliban, Rahimullah Yusufzai said that there is deadlock in the dialogue but the process has not come to an end.

In an interview with a private TV channel, Rahimullah Yusufzai said that the government committee has sought clarifications from the Taliban about the Mohmand Agency incident in which 23 security personnel were killed as well as about ceasefire. He said that if the TTP did not give a positive response in this regard, the peace process is doomed to end.

Talking about a possible military assault in North Waziristan, he said no decision had been taken yet and the dialogue committee was in contact with the TTP’s. He said there had been no informal meeting with the Taliban committee but hinted that such a meeting could take place to move towards formal dialogue.

Rahimullah said if all the militant groups accept the decision of TTP, as claimed by Taliban Shura, the decisions of the Shura should be practically implemented. Another member of the peace committee Rustam Shah Mohmand, talking to media, said that the dialogue process would remain suspended till Taliban announce and implement the ceasefire. He said, as a gesture of goodwill, the Taliban will have to release 100 civilian prisoners.

“If this is done, the talks could move ahead then,” he said, adding that the ball was now in the TTP’s court as far as the peace process is concerned.

Rustam Shah Mohmand concluded by saying that the TTP will have to put an end to all violent activities, otherwise there would be no use of meeting the TTP committee.