Pakistan-Taliban to start talking

ISLAMABAD: The committees formed by the Pakistan government and the banned Taliban for peace talks will meet for the first time on Tuesday even as cricketer- turned-politician Imran Khan and the right-wing Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F distanced themselves from the peace process.

The developments came on a day when Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif signalled his determination to end terrorism through dialogue. He said his only wish was for the talks with the Taliban to move forward successfully.

The committees from the two sides will meet in Islamabad at 2pm on Tuesday, officials said.

The decision came following a telephonic conversation between radical cleric Samiul Haq, a member of the panel nominated by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and Irfan Siddiqui, a senior journalist who is part of the government's committee.

The TTP had proposed it should be represented by a committee comprising Samiul Haq, known as the "father of the Taliban", Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan, Lal Masjid cleric Abdul Aziz, Jamaat-e-Islami leader Muhammad Ibrahim and Mufti Kifayatullah of the JUI-F.

However, the Tehrik-e-Insaf's top decision-making body on Monday declined the Taliban's proposal to include Imran Khan in its committee. It appreciated the trust reposed by the TTP in Khan and said talks must begin soon.

The party noted it already had a representative — former ambassador Rustam Shah Mohmand — in the government committee. JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman also announced his party would not be part of the peace process initiated by the government.

He said Mufti Kifayatullah, named for the Taliban's committee, is bound to accept the party's decision. He said the Taliban named Kifayatullah in good faith. The Taliban, however, should have included their own leaders in the committee, he added.

The four-member committee appointed by the government comprises senior journalists Irfan Siddiqui and Rahimullah Yusufzai, former ISI official Major (retired) Muhammad Amir, former ambassador Rustam Shah Mohmand.

Earlier in the day, PM Sharif said he wanted to overcome terrorism in the country through dialogue. "My only wish and prayer is that this process (talks with the Taliban) should move forward successfully, and whatever issues Pakistan faces, they should be solved through dialogue," he said.

Expressing satisfaction at the status of the peace process with the Taliban, Sharif said he hoped the committees from both sides will move forward in a positive direction to bring peace to the country. He said he was supervising the dialogue process and interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan was in touch with the government committee to assist it in efforts to reach a positive outcome.

Information minister Pervaiz Rashid said the government wanted to hear the Taliban's viewpoint so that it could know their concerns and make Pakistan peaceful and secure.

Sharif called for talks with the Taliban soon after assuming office last year. However, the process ran into problems after former TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud was killed in a US drone strike in November.