The government’s peace process with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) suffered a major blow on Monday as a key player of the dialogue process, Major (r) Mohammad Amir, quit the dialogue process in protest against the “unabated media hype” created by some members of the Taliban negotiating panel for “personal projection” and “party agendas”.
Amir had single-handedly made a breakthrough in bringing the Taliban to the talks table and his departure halfway is likely to badly damage the peace process as the parties involved – the government, army and the TTP fighters – suffer from trust deficit and the former ISI official was making efforts to bridge this gulf.
A close aide of Maj Amir told Pakistan Today that demands like seeking a meeting with the chief of army staff by the committee members and making immature statements regarding prisoners’ release had badly hurt the dialogue process.
“Just to make the dialogue process a success, Maj Amir talked to heads of various groups of the TTP and brought them on one table. When Ahrar-ul-Hind violated the ceasefire, Maj Amir even met with its chief and convinced him to join the peace process. But pushing of personal agendas by the TTP negotiators damaged his efforts,” the source said.
He added that Maj Amir had informed the TTP leadership about his decision and he will soon inform Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar about his decision. He said the Taliban Shura wanted Amir to stay but Amir had told them that he could not work along “projection seeking individuals”.
“It is childish to seek a meeting with army chief when the interior minister himself is spearheading the dialogue process. Moreover, making premature announcements about the release of prisoners and alleging that the government’s negotiators did not make demands for release of civilians held captive by militants may further damage the confidence-building measures. This all has disheartened Maj Amir,” the source said.
The source said that Amir was also disappointed with the personal and political agendas of his own counterparts in the government’s committee.
“When the major player of the dialogue process, Maj Amir, is not making any statements to keep the peace process a covert affair, why are the other members leaking the developments to the media?”
The source said that during a recent meeting of both the dialogue committees, it was mutually agreed that no member of both the negotiating panels would talk to the media.
“In the last meeting of negotiators, it was agreed that none of the members of negotiating panels would talk to media and only Chaudhry Nisar from the government side and Maulana Samiul Haq from TTP would interact with media when and if needed. However, at least two members of the committee had time and again violated the understanding,” said the source.
AMIR CONFIRMS WITHDRAWAL:
When contacted, Maj Amir confirmed to Pakistan Today that he had decided to quit the peace process.
Asked what made him leave the peace process halfway, Amir said he would share his concerns with Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. He refused to comment over his future course of action.
“I will not share anything regarding the peace talks with the media. I have left the peace dialogue but I will continue to pray for its success. On my return to Islamabad from Swabi, I will meet with the interior minister, who is focal person of the government for the dialogue process,” he said.
