No point talking with terrorists!

• Govt committee refuses to meet Taliban representatives as Nawaz Sharif says he cannot allow more innocent blood to spill in garb of talks
• Siddiqui says visit to Akora Khattak was postponed because ‘we don’t want to go just for sake of meetings’
• Taliban representatives express dismay at cancellation of meeting but distance themselves from Taliban actions

The peace talks between the government and Taliban committees were scrapped on Monday after the government side refused to meet the representatives of the terrorist outfit following the slaying of 23 soldiers of Frontier Corps (FC) in Mohmand Agency who had been abducted in the year 2010.

After the killings of FC personnel on Sunday night, the government committee cancelled its scheduled visit to Akora Khattak to meet the TTP committee comprising Maulana Samiul Haq, Maulana Yousaf Shan and Prof Muhammad Ibrahim on the orders of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Talking to reporters, the government’s negotiator Irfan Siddiqui said that the committee had decided with consensus not to visit Akora Khattak for a meeting with the Taliban committee. He said he himself phoned Yousuf Shah and informed him about their decision to not undertake the visit.

“We do not want to go just for the sake of meetings,” he said, adding that the martyrdom of the FC personnel was condemnable and the committee had reservations over such acts.

Earlier during a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the premier condemned the killing of FC personnel in Mohmand Agency, saying the incident had negatively impacted the peace talks and Pakistan could not afford bloodshed anymore.

Nawaz said the government initiated the dialogue process with good intentions in the light of decisions taken at the All-Parties Conference (APC); however‚ the process is sabotaged whenever they reached an encouraging point.

He told the government’s committee members Major (r) Aamir and Irfan Siddiqui that the government could not allow such barbaric incidents in the garb of talks.

Irfan Siddiqui told the prime minister that a special meeting of the committee has been called today (Tuesday) in which the whole situation would be scrutinised and a final decision will be taken regarding the talks.

Meanwhile, the government and the military leadership have reportedly decided in principle not to hold any further talks with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan after the martyrdom of the FC personnel and have started preparations for launching decisive action against them.

According to sources, the security forces are fully prepared for action in Waziristan and are waiting for a green signal to go after the terrorists. Sources also said the civil and military leadership late on Sunday night decided to launch an operation in North Waziristan.

During the meeting, the prime minister said no concession would be made with terrorists, observing that no compromise would be allowed regarding national security.

The meeting decided that the security forces will not halt their action against terrorist elements and that ground and air attacks will be conducted against them.

A security official said the TTP allegation of killing of terrorists in the security forces’ custody was a baseless propaganda to justify their brutal acts of terrorism.

TALIBAN COMMITTEE MEETING:

Meanwhile, the TTP negotiating committee in their meeting in Akora Khattak, stressed the need for jointly working for restoration of peace by both the Taliban and government committees and end of violence in the country.

Maulana Yousaf Shah told reporters after the meeting that he had come to know that Irfan Siddiqui had said that it was not possible for the committee to hold a meeting in such a situation.

He stated that the TTP committee was only a negotiating committee and that the people and the government committee should accept their status, as it did not consider itself separate from the government committee.

“We regret that the government committee did not come to Akora Khattak to attend the meeting. We could have discussed the latest situation for the restoration of peace in the country, had they come today,” he said.

The Taliban negotiating committee said that a military operation was no solution as it would bring more bloodshed, displacement and terrorism in the country. The members also stressed the need of strengthening contacts between the two committees to end further violence in the country.

Saying that it was inevitable that the committees should work jointly for peace, professor Ibrahim said the committee was facing a difficult situation, adding that the visit to Miran Shah had been a major development and that TTP had given a positive response.

He said that the committee had a desire to reach a ceasefire at the earliest, but admitted that it was a difficult task. He also said that the committee could not defend the TTP’s actions, adding that many forces and hands were active in the region.