Taliban to govt: Show seriousness in opening talks

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has asked the government to exhibit seriousness in initiating peace talks. TTP spokesperson Shahidullah Shahid said that the government, on one hand, is blaming Taliban for walking away from the talks, and on the other hand, is threatening them with calls of operation. Shahid said that Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Maulana Samiul Haq tried to carry out negotiations but did not have enough backing from the government. Same is the case with Munawar Hassan and Imran Khan, who are perplexed at government’s behaviour, he added. TTP spokesperson went on to question the authenticity of all parties conference, saying that no concrete measure leading to peace talks has been taken by the government. “If the government really intends to carry out talks with TTP, it should work to create a conducive environment to make it happen.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 25^th, 2014.