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.
