Taliban Talk Break Down

TALIBAN PEACE TALK BREAKS DOWN

The four members from government of Pakistan negotiating committee immediately cancelled a scheduled visit to Akora Khattak for a meeting with the Taliban committee. It is a unanimous decision.

It regrets to say that things are not moving in the right direction. Peace talks with Taliban are purposeless after the sad and condemnable murders.

The Taliban negotiating team has however regretted that the Akora Khattak meeting could not take place. It was close to reaching an understanding ceasefire but it is sad that the government of Pakistan called off the meeting after considering as Taliban.

It was also said by the government committee that military operation will only bring more bloodshed, displacement and terrorism to the country. It is not  a solution, said by the Taliban committee members, and added that both committees need to reestablish contacts and launch renewed efforts to end violence in the region.

The other committee members said both sides should exercises patience and restraint. It is said that they could not defend Taliban as many hands were active in the region. The Taliban committee was acting only as negotiators and it should not be made a party. They wished an early ceasefire could be agreed but it looked difficult after the latest developments.

Although the government of Pakistan seems in its public pronouncements to be taking a harder stance on the terrorists, continuing attacks while the pretence of talks continues, it is still far from clear whether it has seen the light and understood the logic of those who have been advocating action against the terrorists as a necessary condition for meaningful talks. So far the government of Pakistan has appeared on the back foot and the Taliban enjoying all the initiative both on the battlefield as well as in the political sphere. That may have changed and be changing daily with the unrelenting series of attacks the Taliban has been carrying out since the talks began. It has believed from the very outset of the talks effort that whether the government of Pakistan likes it or not, the Taliban will eventually force  it out of any illusions about the possibility of peace through talks along and force its hand vis-a tough action against the Taliban. The coming few days will tell if that moment has arrived or not, in any case whatever the timing of the almost inevitable military action against the Taliban the government and the military should put their heads together to prepare for the military operations and the anticipated retaliation by way of terrorist actions in the rest of the country.