Going around in circles

If the group has ended the ceasefire, the government should, based on its own words, have ended the talks.


Editorial April 19, 2014
For the possible view that 20 prisoners is a small amount, it can also be pointed out that, in return, the TTP has not released a single noncombatant prisoner that it is holding. PHOTO: AFP/FILE

What on earth is going on with the peace talks? There seems to be no clarity on either side of the table, and that is a warning sign for the dialogue process moving forward. On one hand, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) initially did not extend its month-long cessation of attacks, which expired at the end of March, but then said that, as long as the talks continued, an unspoken ceasefire would remain in place — only to then officially announce a few days ago that the ceasefire was over, but talks would continue. Now they say that the ceasefire is over but they will not attack public places, but warned that other forces might take advantage of the situation, and that they (the TTP) reserve the right to retaliate if they are attacked. If they’re not going to attack public places, as they have stated, and don’t want to be blamed for such possible attacks, then why isn’t there an extension in the ceasefire to avoid any misconceptions? And if the government is not attacking the TTP, given that the high-powered forum of the Cabinet Committee on National Security itself resolved to continue with talks, then what would the TTP need to retaliate against? On the other hand, the government’s determination to pursue dialogue with the TTP, despite the militant group’s clear-worded decision to end the ceasefire, later came with the lacuna that talks can only continue with a ceasefire in place. Therefore, if the group has ended the ceasefire, the government should, based on its own words, have ended the talks — but instead it announced they would continue — and has not yet publically demanded that the TTP extend the ceasefire.

The stated reason behind the TTP’s refusal to continue its ceasefire is its claim that the government has not acted upon their demands, including the freeing of ‘non-combatant’ TTP members currently in the custody of security forces and continued military action against them. But what of the release of close to 20 detainees by the government late last month in three phases? As for the possible view that 20 prisoners is a small amount, it can also be pointed out that, in return, the TTP has not released a single non-combatant prisoner that it is holding. If it is the pace of the release it is concerned with, then why didn’t it reciprocate? It has already been stated in this space that the government has done a majority of the compromise and has always taken that extra step to assuage the suspicions of the TTP, but the latter has done nothing but announce a ceasefire — and that too has now ended. As for the complaint that security forces continue to launch sporadic, small-scale attacks on the TTP and its associated groups, then it can also be pointed out that the TTP’s associated groups have launched attacks during the ceasefire — but that did not result in the government ending talks or calling off its ceasefire (Lest we forget that just before the ceasefire started, the military was in the middle of intense aerial bombardment — which has been halted).

Now it has come to light that Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan will himself meet with the TTP’s representative committee in Islamabad in a bid to sort this matter out. Perhaps, he needs to explain to them the concept of quid-pro-quo. In any case, it seems that the process is now back to square one — talking about talks. And that is frustrating given the supposed gains made when the government’s negotiation team met directly with the TTP Shura last month in a meeting that was supposed to break new ground and narrow the trust deficit. Many voices that have long been sceptical of the talks have held their peace in the last few weeks in the bid to give the government and the pro-talks lobby the opportunity to act out their theories. There seemed to be progress a few weeks ago — but it turns out that movement has clearly been circular.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 20th, 2014.

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COMMENTS (1)

Walid Mushtaq | 9 years ago | Reply

Unfortunately, the government does not seem to be serious in pursuing peace talks

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