Pakistan pours cold water on TTP’s talks offer

Proscribed group told to surrender and lay down arms

PESHAWAR:

Pakistani authorities have declined an offer from the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to resume talks, citing their previous negative experience with dialogue.

The TTP, through various sources and individual contacts, expressed their willingness to re-engage in talks in recent days. However, the government rejected the offer and instead urged the militants to surrender, according to sources.

The government engaged in talks with the proscribed TTP last year at the insistence of the Afghan Taliban government in Kabul. For that purpose, a ceasefire was also announced.

However, the TTP unilaterally terminated the truce in November last year, a few days before the appointment of Gen Asim Munir as the new army chief of Pakistan.

Subsequent to the ceasefire's termination, a wave of attacks on police, security personnel, and government installations ensued, with particular emphasis on the southern districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. These targeted attacks were attributed to the TTP.

A senior government official revealed that during the previous rounds of talks, Afghanistan's acting interior minister, Sirajuddin Haqqani, acted as a mediator. However, it is important to note that he did not hold the role of guarantor in those discussions.

“We need solid guarantees,” the senior official told The Express Tribune. “Negotiations will be meaningless without a solid guarantor. So when this offer was made it was rejected outright,” he added.

The Pakistani authorities have made it explicitly clear to the TTP that individuals willing to surrender are welcome to do so, the officials said, adding that Pakistan sustained losses whenever it engaged in talks with them. “That is why we are now asking for concrete guarantees.”

The current coalition government, since assuming power, has attributed the ongoing wave of terrorism in the country to the talks held between the then-ruling PTI government and the TTP. In response to parliamentary directives, a committee was formed on this matter, headed by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif. However, no meetings of the committee have taken place thus far.

The Pakistani government has been urging the Afghan Taliban to take action against the TTP. As part of this effort, the Kabul government has detained or deported several TTP leaders.

Recent visits by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar to Kabul were also linked to this issue. During the Afghan foreign minister's visit to Pakistan, the matter was raised as well.

The senior official emphasized that the Afghan Taliban would not employ force against the TTP, and Pakistan had no intention of entering Afghanistan to dismantle TTP bases, given the friendly nature of the neighbouring country.

The Express Tribune reported on Monday that Pakistan had told the interim Afghan government that it could only consider talking to the TTP if the terrorist outfit surrendered and laid down arms.

Official sources privy to the development told The Express Tribune on Sunday that Pakistan was no longer seeking talks with the TTP under the present circumstances.

However, despite Pakistan’s refusal to enter into peace talks with the militant group, the Afghan Taliban were still keen on the process of dialogue to kick-start.

The Pakistani government has been urging the Afghan Taliban to take action against the TTP. As part of this effort, the Kabul government has detained or deported several TTP leaders.