Pakistan, Taliban negotiators meet for peace talks
8 Feb MAX NEWS
Pakistani government and Taliban negotiators held their first peace
talks Thursday, promising to keep the process moving despite the ongoing
insurgency.The meeting in Islamabad began after both sides failed to
meet Tuesday as originally scheduled due to questions over the
composition of the negotiating team representing the outlawed
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.At their first meeting, both sides expressed
their resolve to keep talking despite the ongoing violence and agreed
that neither side would issue statements against the other, the
state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported.
At a news conference, Irafan Siddiqui, leading the government side,
and Maulana Samiul Haq, speaking for the TTP, also said they do not want
the talks to drag on for a long time, the news agency said.Dawn
newspaper said the peace talks, called by Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif's government, were being held despite much skepticism whether
they will produce lasting peace after about seven years of bloody
insurgency by militants.Thursday's meeting lasted about 4 hours, Dawn
said.
A joint news release said the government side stressed the talks be
held within the framework of the constitution, and that the scope of the
peace talks be limited to only insurgency-affected areas. The government
also said all activities that may negatively affect the peace efforts
should immediately cease.
The TTP side urged the government to clarify the mandate and level of
authority of its four-member committee, and its ability to implement a
peace pact.Besides Siddiqui, a special assistant to the prime minister,
other government negotiators are Rustam Shah Mohmand, former ambassador
to Afghanistan, journalist Rahimullah Yousufzai and retired Maj. Amir
Khan.
In addition to Maulana Haq, the TTP side was represented by Maulana
Abdul Aziz and Mohammad Ibrahim. Two more negotiators nominated from two
political parties declined to be on the team.TTP spokesman Shahidullah
Shahid was later quoted as saying the three-member committee was final
and that "we have our full confidence in it to hold talks," Dawn
reported.Sharif, who announced the talks last week, has said he was
optimistic there would be a positive outcome.The TTP has stepped up its
violence since its leader, Hakimullah Mehsud, was killed in a drone
strike last November. Earlier peace talk offers had been spurned.The
violence in the past seven years has killed hundreds of people,
including Pakistani security personnel.In announcing the talks last
week, Sharif, who became prime minister after elections last May, said
his government is keen to give them a last chance to save the country
from terrorism.
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