Special assistant to the prime minister on national affairs and a member of the committee, Irfan Siddiqui. PHOTO: PID
Soon after the premier announced the formation of a four-member committee that will pursue dialogue with the Taliban, special assistant to the prime minister on national affairs and a member of the committee, Irfan Siddiqui addressed a press conference to expand on Nawaz Sharif’s decision.
“The Taliban should also form a committee or similar body for talks,” he suggested, adding, however, that this was not the demand of the government. Responding to a question, Siddiqui said the first thing the committee will do is to establish contact with the Taliban and then to conclude the talks as soon as possible because the country’s security situation is serious.
“There are no prerequisites for talks and there is no guarantee for anything because we don’t want to start talks with ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’,” Siddiqui said. “We will be in a better position to brief you once the talks start.”
He also said that the committee would begin by removing hurdles in the way of talks. “When talks will start, they will listen to our viewpoint and we will listen to theirs,” said the adviser.
He clarified that the ‘peace talks’ decision was the choice of the prime minister and that Nawaz’s seriousness is reflected by his efforts to start consultations to make this move successful.
The dialogue committee
Siddiqui termed the body an ‘informal committee’ with no focal person or chairman. “No one has questioned the credibility of the committee members and some factions of the Taliban also welcomed the decision,” he added.
He also said that the committee was not a conventional one, as three of its members have no link with the government and he became part of the present regime only two days ago. He said that open and transparent dialogue will be held under the prime minister’s supervision.
“I will try to brief media about the progress and the demands of both the sides,” he said. Talking about the modalities of the committee’s function, he said, “We will soon advertise in media our contact numbers so other groups could contact us”.
Siddiqui refrained from answering questions regarding the prospects of the dialogue’s success.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 30th, 2014.
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This is a good move by the government. Whatever they decide must be based on consensus of the nation. As of now there is no consensus in support of military operation.