It is apparent from the above statement that they are not in favour of negotiations.
SOHBATPUR, BALOCHISTAN: The Pakistani Taliban have been battling for years to topple the central government but Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif believes that these extremist elements are now ready to find a negotiated settlement and halt the fighting.
While on the one hand, our men are being martyred by the Taliban, and on the other the government appears to have adopted a snail-paced approach in dealing with the militants. The federal government should be courageous and should openly condemn those who take responsibility for attacks on our men and hold the Pakistan Army on the frontline to tackle these elements. But the government is lazy about even condemning the attacks in a bid not to offend the Taliban.
One of the members on the TTP’s negotiating team, Maulana Abdul Aziz, said recently that there was no chance of peace unless the government agreed to the armed groups’ demand for Sharia to be implemented throughout Pakistan. It is apparent from the above statement that they are not in favour of negotiations. So in this case, negotiation with these elements is rubbing salt in the wounds of those in the martyr’s families.
Khalid Ahmed
Published in The Express Tribune, May 16th, 2014.
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