All terrorism-related decisions (TTP agreement) must be made by parliament: Bilawal Butto-Zardari

[Major]

Many of you might say that he is the PM and he does have this authority. But last time I checked, the govt never consulted the opposition, the parliament, the senate or the national assembly as whole. A public debate was never initiated.

Pakistan has suffered from the suicided attacks that TTP has committed over the year. We have had civilians getting killed, we saw how cricket got banned in the country. ICC took away hosting rights for the champions trophy and the world cup from us.

Our former Prime Minister was assassinated by them and worst of all, on December 16th we saw innocent children die in the hands of the TTP.

Yet, without any national debate going on, without the national assembly or opposition being taken in to consideration, the PM is trying to give amnesty based on what?

He has given an interview with trt world regarding this, but he is yet to make a statement in the parliament. The last time I remembered was that Pakistan had a democratic govt in place. However, the due process of democratic state is being overlooked now.

Currently there isnt any public opinion that backs the PM.

People might believe this is equal to how USA negotiated with Afghan Taliban, however the US was an occupying force there.

TTP is fighting an existing govt and is a terror outfit.

 

[saeedhk]

Pakistan has once again faced humiliation because they were thinking that by supporting the Afghan Taliban and bringing them into power in Kabul, Pakistan would be able to use its influence to force the Afghan Taliban to kill and help us eliminate the TTP.

However, the AT has flatly told Pakistan that they will not act against the TTP and it is Pakistan’s own issue.

After being humiliated, the Pakistani state is begging the TTP to shun violence. To answer the OP’s question, Imran Khan does not have the mandate to pardon the TTP. The issue should be decided by the parliament through a debate and we also need to consult the families of martyrs.

Wasn’t the TTP backed by India, why is Pakistan negotiating with them now?The Pakistani establishment and governments have always misled the public by blaming India for terror in Pakistan. They shift the blame to India because they do not want to accept responsibility that they have failed in their job to protect the lives of Pakistanis.

 

[saeedhk]

Pakistan is the only place in the world that rewards and negotiates with terrorists while those who march for their rights peacefully are kidnapped and end up dead!

 

[MenInG]

He does - he is the PM

He is doing what is best for our country as no one including the Army has been able to suppress these people.

If they can lay down their arms and be reintegrated then its fine.

We have seen the results of 20 years of blood shed in Afghanistan

 

[OMB]

The banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Friday announced a three weeks ceasefire, starting from Friday till October 2I, hours after Prime Minister Imran Khan revealed in an interview with a Turkish news channel that the government was in talks with some groups of the outfit.

A North Waziristan-based TTP group confirmed that the talks with the government were ongoing. A tribal leader from North Waziristan, who had been involved in the talks between the government and the TTP, said that the talks were going on for some time.

Earlier, Prime Minister Imran said in an interview with TRT World that the negotiations were being conducted in Afghanistan, adding that dialogue was the only solution and that the government would “forgive” the members if an agreement was reached.

“We are in talks with some of the groups on a reconciliation process,” Imran said. He explained that the

talks were aimed at having the members lay down their weapons.
When asked if the Afghan Taliban were helping in the process, Imran said: “The talks are taking place in Afghanistan, so in that sense yes.”

The prime minister said that he was expecting a deal to come out of the talks but “again nothing is certain”. “I am anti-military solution, and as a politician, I believe political dialogue is the way ahead. We forgive them and they can become normal citizens.”

Later, the TTP announced a ceasefire, from October 1 to October 20. They also said that ceasefire deadline could be extended if the negotiation process progressed successfully.

The tribal leader from North Waziristan said that the TTP had put forward three demands, including de-merger of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata); and permission to commanders for carrying weapons, and release of prisoners.

The tribal leader added that some of the conditions had been agreed. According to sources, an 11-member TTP delegation was holding the talks with the government, while some “influential” Afghan Taliban leaders and other tribal elders were playing the role of mediator.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Secretary General Nayyar Bokhari termed the prime minister’s announcement of the talks a “very sensitive statement” and demanded that a session of parliament be called immediately to discuss it.

“The statement of forgiving TTP is akin to rubbing salt on the wounds of martyrs’ relatives,” Bokhari said, demanding that the government clarify the terms on which the talks were being held with the outlawed TTP.

“Why were parliament and political parties kept uninformed about negotiations with the TTP?” he questioned, adding that a “negative perception” would be built about Pakistan at the international level because of such steps.

Also read: US diplomat calls for action against all terror outfits ahead of Pakistan visit

In a separate statement, PPP Information Secretary Shazia Marri said that the PPP “strongly condemned” such a big step by the government without taking parliament into confidence. She said that the prime minister’s statement had raised a number of questions.

“On what basis and under what conditions are talks being held with the TTP? Why was parliament not taken into confidence? Why did the government feel the need to hold secret talks with the TTP in this way?” she asked.

Meanwhile, another opposition party, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) had convened a grand tribal jirga in Peshawar on Saturday (today). A tribal leader said that about 120 delegates would participate in the jirga and important decisions were expected.

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said the members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), who wanted to shun the path of violence, should be given a chance to return to the mainstream.

In a video message, he said the statement of Prime Minister Imran Khan about TTP was being discussed right now and the need was to share its background with the people.

The state of Pakistan had gone through enormous ordeal as it sacrificed hundreds of lives in the war against terrorism, he added.

The minister said there were various splinter groups in the TTP and amongst them some individuals wanted to honour their pledge of allegiance to the country by returning to the mainstream.

The peace loving individuals, who wanted to move forward in accordance with the constitution of the country, should be allowed to return to lead a normal life, he added.

Fawad said the country had defeated terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda in Pakistan and completely ended India's conspiracies.

Right now, Pakistan was stronger and determined than it was ever before, he added. The minister said the past policies of state were formulated in peculiar circumstances.

A total of over 3,000 alienated elements who endured Indian conspiracies had already returned to the mainstream, he added.

The minister said numerous people and families who wanted to stay loyal to the country but could not in the past, now wanted to pledge allegiance to the country.

He said Prime Minister Imran Khan had set principles, adding "we want to move forward on the basis of these principles to bring back those people who lost the right path in certain circumstances and now want to live life like an ordinary citizen while abiding by the Constitution of the country."

With input from APP

 

[saeedhk]

One of their demands is handing over FATA to them. Get ready for more bloodshed and no-go areas. I am sure if they are allowed to operate in FATA, sooner or later we would need to launch another operation to kick them out. There have been at least half a dozen of peace treaties but they did not last. They basically want to set up their own government in FATA. It means no schools, hospitals and no polio vaccine drives coupled with brutal treatment of women.

 

[Technics 1210]

Pakistan is the only place in the world that rewards and negotiates with terrorists while those who march for their rights peacefully are kidnapped and end up dead!

More rubbish from you. The UK negotiated with the IRA terrorists, and granted immunity to the terrorists from prosecution. Go look up The Good Friday agreement.

 

[MenInG]

Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid on Saturday said the incumbent government was aware of "good and bad Taliban" and the matter of the individuals involved in the attack on the Army Public School (APS) is different.

Speaking to the media in Karachi, the minister confirmed the prime minister's statement from a day earlier that high-level talks were in progress with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

"The international political scenario is changing," said the interior minister.

The interior minister further said that no power could bypass Pakistan. "Pakistan wants an inclusive government in Afghanistan."

Rashid added that the foreign ministers of Pakistan and the United States were in contact on the Afghan situation.

"We are ready to even initiate talks with India over the issue of occupied Kashmir," Rashid said.

While responding to a question regarding US President Joe Biden's visit, he said, "we would welcome anyone who visits us but would also send peace on those who don't".

He noted that the American people were unaware of the Afghan situation and President Biden should respond to their queries.

Regarding the appointment of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman, the minister said, "it will be decided this week". Prime Minister Imran Khan, he added, is rather worried about the current levels of inflation in the country.

A day earlier, during an interview with the TRT World, Prime Minister Imran Khan revealed that the government of Pakistan was in the process of dialogue with some factions of TTP for “peace and reconciliation”.

To a question regarding the help the government was getting from the Afghan Taliban, PM Imran said yes, since the talks were taking place in Afghanistan.

The premier had added that some groups wanted to talk to the government for peace and reconciliation. "There are different groups which form TTP and we are in talks with some of the groups."

 

[Major]

He does - he is the PM

He is doing what is best for our country as no one including the Army has been able to suppress these people.

If they can lay down their arms and be reintegrated then its fine.

We have seen the results of 20 years of blood shed in Afghanistan

But does he have the public backing for this?

The issue here is that he has not taken the parliament in to considerarion. Opposition hasnt been taken into consideration.

Dialogue with ttp effects alot of us.

There should had been discussion iniated in the parliament and than public opinion should had also been analyzed on it.

Even if imran wanted to take this decision, he should had breif the parliament about it.

The pmda bill, the evm voting, the snc, all had the same issues that the parliament wasnt considered in doing dicussions and everything has been passed without the concensus of all parties involved.

Same is being applied on the national policy with ttp. Alot of us had to live through the suicide attacks, alot of pashtun families and balochi families had to take coffins of there loved ones. Our former pm was killed by these people.

He is the pm, but such important decisions needs the backing of the public and the whole parliament.

 

[Major]

He does - he is the PM

He is doing what is best for our country as no one including the Army has been able to suppress these people.

If they can lay down their arms and be reintegrated then its fine.

We have seen the results of 20 years of blood shed in Afghanistan

Also i would like to add is that afghanistan issue is seperate.

They basically were dealing with foreign invaders.

What we are dealing with is people trying to challenge the govt and people that already exists. Ttp is spreading terror

 

[MenInG]

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry on Saturday said wars come to a halt through talks, a day after Prime Minister Imran Khan revealed the government was in talks with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

The federal minister, addressing a public meeting in Pind Dadan Khan, said Prime Minister Imran Khan had presented an agenda for reconciliation with militants seeking a normal life.

"Those Pakistanis who were detracked by inimical forces, whether in Balochistan or elsewhere, will be brought back into the mainstream," Chaudhry said.

In line with the premier's reconciliation agenda, the government will hold talks with those who follow the Constitution of Pakistan, the information minister said.

He said more than 3,000 "disgruntled" Baloch youth had surrendered arms and rejoined the mainstream. "This step was vital to save the new generation from terrorism and violence and pave the way for a stronger Pakistan," he said.

Afghan war
The information minister said thousands of Pakistanis had laid down their lives in the Afghan war but fortunately, the Taliban had taken over Kabul "without shedding a single drop of blood".

He said since 2005, PM Imran Khan was calling for a political solution for the Afghanistan problem, but the world did not pay heed — but with time, the international community acknowledged the wisdom in what was said.

Chaudhry said when PM Imran Khan assumed office in 2018, he had asked then US president Donald Trump to start a dialogue for the resolution of the Afghan problem.

The minister said finally the US and the Taliban sat at the negotiation table due to the efforts of Pakistan, adding that it was a great achievement of Islamabad's political and military leadership that US troops’ withdrawal from Afghanistan was completed "without any bloodshed".

Chaudhry said the government was fearful of an influx of Afghan refugees but due to a peaceful change of regime there, no refugees came to Pakistan.

The minister said Pakistan’s positive role in Afghanistan was evident before the entire world and was being acknowledged.

He said Pakistan bore the brunt of the Afghan war as martyrs of the war against terrorism were buried in almost every graveyard in the country.

Chaudhry backs 'chance at a normal life' for TTP militants
A day earlier, Chaudhry supported a "normal life" for militants associated with the banned outfit TTP, who wish to pledged loyalty to the state.

Chaudhry, in a video statement, said: "Peace-loving people who wish to follow the Constitution should be given a chance to get back to a normal life."

The information minister said the government seeks to move forward with the conditions laid down by the prime minister — who had called for the disarmament of the TTP.

Chaudhry said the state's policies are made in line with the situation at hand. "The people who could not fulfil their pledge of allegiance to Pakistan want to return to fulfill this pledge."

In Balochistan, more than 3,000 "disgruntled" people have come back to a normal life, who had fallen prey to India's conspiracies, the information minister said.

The information minister noted that the country had moved past tough times, sacrificed thousands of lives, and as a result, the state was able to "beat terrorist organisations like Al Qaeda".

Earlier yesterday, PM Imran Khan, speaking to TRT World’s Ali Mustafa in Islamabad, said that the government is in talks with "some" groups of the TTP for disarmament.

"I think some of the Pakistani Taliban groups actually want to talk to our government. You know, for some peace, for some reconciliation," the prime minister said.

When asked to confirm whether Pakistan is actually in talks with the TTP, the premier clarified to say that talks are ongoing "with some of them".

He said that the Afghan Taliban are "helping", in the sense that the talks are taking place in Afghanistan.

The premier said that these talks, for disarmament, if successful, will lead to the government "forgiving" them, "and then they [will] become normal citizens".

Following the premier's comments, the outlawed group, in a statement, announced a cessation in hostilities between TTP militants in South Waziristan and the army.

Our leaders have asked all fighters to observe a ceasefire from today to October 20, the TTP statement said.

The TTP said that their leaders are engaged in some "secret talks", without elaborating any further.

 

[MenInG]

But does he have the public backing for this?

The issue here is that he has not taken the parliament in to considerarion. Opposition hasnt been taken into consideration.

Dialogue with ttp effects alot of us.

There should had been discussion iniated in the parliament and than public opinion should had also been analyzed on it.

Even if imran wanted to take this decision, he should had breif the parliament about it.

The pmda bill, the evm voting, the snc, all had the same issues that the parliament wasnt considered in doing dicussions and everything has been passed without the concensus of all parties involved.

Same is being applied on the national policy with ttp. Alot of us had to live through the suicide attacks, alot of pashtun families and balochi families had to take coffins of there loved ones. Our former pm was killed by these people.

He is the pm, but such important decisions needs the backing of the public and the whole parliament.

Should there be a referendum?

He is the PM of our country - WE gave him the mandate to make the important decisions.

 

[mazkhan]

I said in past it was only a matter of time when pakistan goes back to negotiation table with ttp .
It has nothing to do with imran khan but the uniformed Scotch , bourbon and brandy drinkers living in their cantonment villas with their begums and children studying abroad.

 

[mazkhan]

To run counterinsurgency you need sophisticated weaponry drones , helicopters , aircraft that can intercept communications well trained infiltrators spies and alongwith that you need lots of money it costs a lot usa wars are a good example.

Since usa has now shut the dollar tap off to the alpha bravo Charlie's in our armed forces where are they gonna get the money to fight the taliban .

 

[moghul]

He does , he is elected to take the decision for the country.

This step is good for Pakistan but not very good for him politically .

First PM who would put country ahead of politics , needs some courage to do that .

Best time to negotiate is from position of power and this is good time .

 

[Major]

Should there be a referendum?

He is the PM of our country - WE gave him the mandate to make the important decisions.

Discussion needs to take place.

Pakistan has a democratic govt and for that any such kind of policies that has many stake holders involved you need to have debate regarding it in the parliament. As debate starts in the parliament, than media and public also starts discussion on this. After that you look at what the narrative is in the parliament and of the public and than take such decisions.

Being elected does not mean you overlook the parliament. When that Abhinandan event took place, the govt rightly went to the parliament for discussion on what to do next with India.

SNC, PMDA, EVM are few issues that the parliament was overlooked. And now TTP policy which is the most important is also getting overlooked.

 

[saeedhk]

There have been at least four peace treaties since 2008 but none of them were honoured by the TTP. Sometimes, they shot dead polio workers, sometimes they killed NGO workers and sometimes they blew up schools.

 

[Major]

I said in past it was only a matter of time when pakistan goes back to negotiation table with ttp .
It has nothing to do with imran khan but the uniformed Scotch , bourbon and brandy drinkers living in their cantonment villas with their begums and children studying abroad.

than it makes you wonder what purpose does this pm serve. Is he just a puppet as everyone claims him to be?

People here think that once you become PM you can make any decision you want. However, that's no way. You have to have dialogue with the members of the parliament and take public opinion into account.

If the PM also overlooks the people than it shows that maybe the orders are coming from somewhere else and we have a PM who dances to their stick.

 

[Major]

He does , he is elected to take the decision for the country.

This step is good for Pakistan but not very good for him politically .

First PM who would put country ahead of politics , needs some courage to do that .

Best time to negotiate is from position of power and this is good time .

If he is the PM and can take every decision and overlook what the public wants than that just means we should abolish the parliament.

Parliament is a place where you have to have debate on such issues, you cannot overlook them.

 

[Gharib Aadmi]

Many of you might say that he is the PM and he does have this authority. But last time I checked, the govt never consulted the opposition, the parliament, the senate or the national assembly as whole. A public debate was never initiated.

IK needs to work with the opposition on this. It should definitely not be unilateral.

With that said if TTP is willing to give up all their weapons, accept the constitution, forsake violence, then is it a bad thing if there is a deal with them? Whats the alternative? If they cant get amnesty then they have no option but to fight.

As far as public debate goes, the media are free to discuss the pro's and con's of any deal with the TTP. They can invite PTI leaders and the opposition to discuss that.

 

[moghul]

Not every single thing needs to be debated in parliament, when was the last time PP or PML supported anything IK did or planned .

 

[Gharib Aadmi]

I said in past it was only a matter of time when pakistan goes back to negotiation table with ttp .
It has nothing to do with imran khan but the uniformed Scotch , bourbon and brandy drinkers living in their cantonment villas with their begums and children studying abroad.

Do you know that Pakistan Army has one of the highest officer to soldier death ratio?

 

[Gharib Aadmi]

One of their demands is handing over FATA to them. Get ready for more bloodshed and no-go areas. I am sure if they are allowed to operate in FATA, sooner or later we would need to launch another operation to kick them out. There have been at least half a dozen of peace treaties but they did not last. They basically want to set up their own government in FATA. It means no schools, hospitals and no polio vaccine drives coupled with brutal treatment of women.

No one would accept that deal to give them any part of what used to be FATA.

President Arif Alvi has suggested that the Pakistani government could consider giving an amnesty to those members of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) who have not remained involved in "criminal activities" and who lay down their weapons and agree to adhere to the Pakistani Constitution.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1645439

 

[moghul]

I don't think IK even think of talking to TTP without army's blessing .

Security related issue and perception of having security problems has cost Pakistan hugely in last 3 decades . Any attempt to bring peace, without compromising our national interest should be welcome .

 

[Major]

IK needs to work with the opposition on this. It should definitely not be unilateral.

With that said if TTP is willing to give up all their weapons, accept the constitution, forsake violence, then is it a bad thing if there is a deal with them? Whats the alternative? If they cant get amnesty then they have no option but to fight.

As far as public debate goes, the media are free to discuss the pro's and con's of any deal with the TTP. They can invite PTI leaders and the opposition to discuss that.

I personally believe they should be eradicated every single one of them, including their families.

Amnesty should not be given especially after the aps attack.

Another thing that i believe is TTP is never gonna give up. They might aswell get backing by the Afhgan taliban as for them TTP is kind of a strategic depth in Pakistan

 

[mazkhan]

Ttp are already in fata and balochistan isis k they carry out daily ambushes , we are facing same insurgency situation as usa nato did in Afghanistan albeit with less sophisticated equipment , airpower and now that any funding from USA has dried up no money to maintain an extended conflict


Maintaining our troops there is costing pakistan money its not free. Plus the added headache of trying to be military ready against India on the east.

There's a reason why our military never went into these baloch or pashtun tribal areas and let them have semi autonomy .

Even the British struggled here when the whole subcontinent was under the yoke of British rule .

If no peace deal is signed then I can see pakistan army may go into conflict against ttp and even afghan taliban who are they allies,

depends if usa backs pakistan , it could back them then dump us in the same way it did to the iraqi army , kurds and now afghan army .

 

[Lonewarrior]

hold on your horses, no one is going to give a free walk away to TTP or BLA .....

Intel is thre since Raheel sharif era .....

these all talks are just talks, the real game is playing behind the scenes, you people will know that in few months ......

 

[Bewal Express]

I think the PK security establishment is worried that groups like TTP don't get a new lease of life and become fronts for Am and Ind with new funding. Its not great when you have to do deals with thugs but negotiations may be the lesser of the evils.
We need a dual track approach of negotiations and at the same time intelligence based eliminations if they don't work.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

He has the authority as the PM but whether it is the right thing to do is another question.

The actions of the TTP should never be forgiven, in an ideal world they would be hunted and thrown into the sea.

Unfortunately, we don't live in an ideal world and as painful as it is negotiating with them makes more sense.

However, lets be clear here. These people can never be reintegrated and if an amnesty is offered is must be a stringent one. We can't have them making YouTubes and TikTok denouncing everything as kufr in the same way the Lal masjid goons do.

 

[Napa]

I doubt IK would make any deal or grant amnesty to TTP without first consulting the Army.

If the Army feels that it can finish the TTP, then you can bet it wouldn't want any amnesty for the TTP. If IK is willing to offer amnesty, it must be that the Army feels they cannot defeat the TTP.

Anyone who thinks that the TTP will surrender significant arms as part of a deal is delusional.

 

[Devadwal]

Four Frontier Corps soldiers and a sub-inspector of Levies Force were martyred when terrorists targeted their vehicle in the Spinwam area of North Waziristan tribal district on Saturday.

Meanwhile, TTP spokesman Mohammad Khurassani has denied reports about ceasefire and asked its affiliated militants to continue their activities.

 

[MenInG]

KARACHI: Defending the government move to offer amnesty to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), federal Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Saturday said the offer was only for “good Taliban” and talks in this connection were taking place at the “highest level.”

Without explaining the “highest level,” the minister, who was talking to reporters at Quaid-i-Azam International Airport after arriving here on a two-day visit, made it clear that the offer was not for those militants who were responsible for bloodshed in the country, citing the December 2014 massacre in Peshawar’s Army Public School.

“The case of those who were involved in incidents like the APS is different. And the case of those who left the country for different reasons is different,” he said in reply to a question about the merit and mechanism of talks with the TTP. “We are not surrendering to anyone and this process is at a very early phase. No one needs to jump to conclusions at this stage.”

In a significant development, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday offered amnesty to the TTP provided the militant organisation laid down arms, disclosing that the government was holding talks with some groups of the outfit seeking reconciliation.

The disclosure attracted strong reaction, mainly from the opposition ******tan Peoples Party (PPP), which questioned the move to hold negotiations with the TTP without taking the parliament into confidence, arguing that it would only add to the pain and grief of the families of the martyrs.

The interior minister ref*e*rred to the strategy of “talks and peace” and cited the gov*ernment’s intention to hold a dialogue even with India only on certain conditions.

“We are ready for talks even with India if it reverses its 2019 move of repealing Article 370 of its constitution in connection with occupied Kashmir,” he said. “We know very well who’s good [Taliban] and who’s bad. Anyone who thinks we are not aware of that, he’s mistaken, he doesn’t have sense.”

In a strong and blunt response, he ruled out the possibility of talks with the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif on extension of the tenure of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman, saying he (Shehbaz) didn’t deserve this role.

“He [Shehbaz] is facing NAB cases. Why would he be consulted?” the minister responded to a question about the possibility of talks with Mr Sharif over extension of the NAB chairman’s tenure. “He’s playing a double game. On the one hand, he’s pretending to be a strong leader of the opposition and on the other making every effort for compromise. The decision on the NAB chairman’s service is expected within a week.”

Mr Rashid also talked about the measures taken by his ministry to contain inflation and the staggering rise of the US dollar’s value which, he claimed, had already started yielding results.

“The FIA [Federal Investigation Agency] has been directed to launch a crackdown against [US] dollar holding,” he said. “And only last night, they [FIA] had recovered some three to four hundred thousand dollars in different raids. There’s no restriction on legal exchange of dollars but anyone holding it would face consequences.”

In reply to a question, Mr Rashid said the PPP leadership was intelligent as it had “boarded Samjhauta Express”, adding that the PML-N would also board the train but after “being thrashed”, adds APP.

He said controlling inflation was the top priority of the government and it had vowed to tackle the issue soon.

He said oil prices were much lower in Pakistan as compared to India and Bangladesh, adding that the prices would fall if Islamabad struck a deal with Riyadh.

Sheikh Rashid emphasised that Pakistan wanted good relations with the US and China.

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2021

 

[Major]

one thing i find funny is that we use to see many posters here claim that India backed the ttp. And now the same posters dont see the irony of imran khan giving amnesty......

People will follow what ever this pm will say, right or wrong.....


Too bad Imran Khan never witness any terrorist attack killings himself. If he had, he would had have guts to discuss with the parliament before going to TRT. Just shows he cant face the questions by those MNAs who have lost loved ones in teorrist attacks over the years.

 

[saeedhk]

one thing i find funny is that we use to see many posters here claim that India backed the ttp. And now the same posters dont see the irony of imran khan giving amnesty......

People will follow what ever this pm will say, right or wrong.....


Too bad Imran Khan never witness any terrorist attack killings himself. If he had, he would had have guts to discuss with the parliament before going to TRT. Just shows he cant face the questions by those MNAs who have lost loved ones in teorrist attacks over the years.

That is what I said before. If India funds the TTP, why are we negotiating with the TTP?

The establishment has peddled this false narrative that India is behind the TTP because they need India to justify huge increase in budget and their lavish lifestyles. This allows the military leadership to live like kings, away from any sort of questions and scepticism. If there is no imaginary enemy-India- the military would lose its stranglehold of the country.

 

[saeedhk]

TTP claims responsibility for killing 5 security personnel in FATA.

 

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD: Rejecting Prime Minister Imran Khan’s “unilateral” decision to offer amnesty to the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and “inconsistent” statements of cabinet members on the issue, opposition parties on Sunday asked the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government to take the parliament into confidence over the terms of engagements with the banned terrorist outfit.

The parliamentarians belonging to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) expressed concern over the government’s act of keeping the talks with the TTP secret.

“What political solutions he (the PM) wishes to undertake with what they call the ‘good Taliban’ need to be clarified as do the questions that arise from the mass sacrifice [that the] civilians and soldiers have made in unprecedented numbers while we fought terrorist groups to the tune of 80,000 lives?” asked PPP vice president and the party’s parliamentary leader in Senate Sherry Rehman in a statement issued here on Sunday.


Ms Rehman said foreign and security policy, which only really worked in bedrock of national unity, was now routinely subjected to unilateral and clashing pronouncements by cabinet members that exposed the country to questions at home and biting criticism at international forums.

Ms Rehman, who is also the chairperson of the Senate’s Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, regretted that while one minister suggested that the TTP was hand in gloves with terrorist groups nurtured in India against Pakistan, another said they could perhaps disarm and rehabilitate them (TTP militants) if they renounced violence.

The prime minster himself, she said, disclosed changes in Pakistan’s policy vis-a-vis TTP on a foreign TV channel, instead parliament.

Ms Rehman issued the statement a day after federal Minister for Interior Sheikh Rashid Ahmed while defending the government’s move to offer amnesty to the TTP stated that the offer was only for “good Taliban” and talks in this connection were taking place at the “highest level”.

Without explaining the “highest level”, the minister, who was talking to reporters in Karachi on Saturday, made it clear that the offer was not for those militants who were responsible for bloodshed in the country, citing the December 2014 massacre in Peshawar’s Army Public School (APS) which left 140-plus schoolchildren, principal, teachers and other staff members dead.

In a significant development, Prime Minister Imran Khan during an interview to a Turkish TV channel on Friday offered amnesty to the TTP provided the terror outfit laid down arms, disclosing that the government was holding talks with some groups of the outfit seeking reconciliation.

“Risks to Pakistan arise not just from a region in turmoil as well as global transitions that pose challenges, but also from the present government’s refusal to democratise policy-making and inability to forge unity in the parliament at a time of growing challenges to the country,” said Ms Rehman.

“Nobody knows except a small coterie about what terms of engagement are being forged with any country that impacts Pakistan. While we are told that Pakistan should not be forced into any arising global bloc, nobody has addressed how we are to navigate both the stresses arising out of the Asia-Pacific region, or the broader global order where Pakistan has commitments and exposure. Nobody has been taken on board about either the terms of engagement with the US, with its vast influence on the IMF, multilateral agencies and even FATF, where Pakistan has been on the grey list for five years despite passing a number of legislations to supposedly meet compliance for clearance,” said Ms Rehman, who had also served as the country’s ambassador to the US during her party’s previous government.

The PPP senator was of the view that if geo-strategic alignments and their politics were now driving multilateral policy towards Pakistan, then the parliament needed to know about it inside the parliament, and not from press talks. She said that just one closed-door National Security Committee session was clearly not enough to address either the pace and scale of events challenging Pakistan and in that too despite the sensitive nature of the subjects, the PM was conspicuously absent.

Ms Rehman said no Pakistani would quietly accept the derailment of democracy, embodied in parliament, nor would they surrender their constitutional right to question sensitive terms of engagement with any non-state group or country.

“There is now little confidence on this cabinet to negotiate terms with any actor international or local, because clearly they are unable to manage a balance that is acceptable, let alone favourable to the Pakistani people,” she said, recalling that the PPP used joint sessions of parliament to build strategic knowledge for parliament and then sought permission for a consensual course of action via representative committees of parliament.

On the other hand, she alleged that the current government only used joint sessions to bulldoze bills which it could not legitimately pass or answer questions about.

“History has taught us painful lessons about unilateral decisions taken in haste covertly. We do not have the capacity, either economic or otherwise to absorb the foreign policy disunity, non-disclosure or the derailment of democracy. All of these may well form a perfect storm to polarise and imperil the country. It is time the danger signs yielded change,” she concluded.

Former president Asif Ali Zardari in a statement while condemning the attack on a vehicle of security forces in North Waziristan said the only cure for terrorists was to fully implement the National Action Plan.

“Destroying nurseries of terrorism is the cure for those who challenge the state’s writ,” Mr Zardari said, adding that terrorists needed to be dealt with as enemies of the country.

PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui in his statement said it was “unfair” to keep negotiations with the TTP secret, adding that the offer of amnesty to the TTP without taking into confidence the nation and parliament had raised many questions.

He recalled that in 2014, the then prime minister Nawaz Sharif had taken all political parties onboard before negotiating with the TTP and announced the formation of a committee for this purpose in the parliament.

He said that Mr Sharif had himself visited the residence of Imran Khan at that time to apprise him of the development.

Asking the government to inform all political parties before taking any step toward negotiations with the TTP, Mr Siddiqui said Pakistan had already paid a heavy price for this type of secret negotiations.

Published in Dawn, October 4th, 2021

 

[gazza619]

Lol @ public backing.

The public has always backed corrupt mafias. Let the public not decide the fate of this nation.

 

[Major]

Lol @ public backing.

The public has always backed corrupt mafias. Let the public not decide the fate of this nation.

? So the fact that Ali Wazir who lose 14 members of his family, Bilalwa who lost his mother and the public who have lost their chidlren, husbands, wives, fatehrs and mothers to the TTP should not have a say and should be dismissed as an LOL.

Would you say LOL to the mothers who lost children in the APS attack? Would you say LOL to Aitzaz who sacrificed his life by tackling a ttp bomber?

Imran khan hasn't lost no one to ttp, people have..

He did not even have the guts to talk to the parliament about this negotiation going on. If you are bypassing parliament than it shows that Imran has made democracy into a joke.

 

[gazza619]

? So the fact that Ali Wazir who lose 14 members of his family, Bilalwa who lost his mother and the public who have lost their chidlren, husbands, wives, fatehrs and mothers to the TTP should not have a say and should be dismissed as an LOL.

Would you say LOL to the mothers who lost children in the APS attack? Would you say LOL to Aitzaz who sacrificed his life by tackling a ttp bomber?

Imran khan hasn't lost no one to ttp, people have..

He did not even have the guts to talk to the parliament about this negotiation going on. If you are bypassing parliament than it shows that Imran has made democracy into a joke.

Sorry i really didnt mean to offend you or anyone. My post was linked to election bias in our provinces where people also back their own. Our parliament is a joke no doubt. But its more so due to the jokers it entails.

When there is absolute sensitivity in matters than the state including law enforcing agencies need to provide justice.

 

[Babeikh]

Issue isn't whether Khan has the authority as much as whether this is actually the right thing to do, the precedent it sets etc

 

[MenInG]

ISLAMABAD: Minister of Interior Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad Monday said “talks with the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is not in my knowledge”.

The minister made the statement regarding the government’s announcement to initiate disarmament negotiations with some factions of the TTP while addressing a press conference in Islamabad.

He said that the decision to hold talks with some factions of TTP was Prime Minister Imran Khan’s.

“Negotiations will be done with only those who lay down their arms and recognise the Constitution,” said Rasheed.

'There is nothing new in Pandora Papers'

Responding to a question about Pandora Papers — which is a huge tranche of leaked data on offshore companies that is larger in size and scope than the Panama Papers and names 700 Pakistanis, including ministers, politicians, and businessmen — Rasheed said that PM Imran Khan has “shut everyone’s mouths” by pledging investigations against those named in the investigation.

Earlier in the day, the premier vowed to investigate “all citizens” named in Pandora Papers leaks.

“There is nothing new in Pandora Papers,” said Rasheed.

Moreover, while speaking about providing visas to Afghan citizens, Rasheed said that the online visa service for Afghanistan will be launched within three weeks.

“20,000 Afghan citizens have arrived in Pakistan since August 15,” said Rasheed.

He added that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has been directed to launch a crackdown against the individuals involved in conning dollars. The FIA has also made some arrests, he added.

The minister also announced the addition of 10,000 personnel in the police department.

Chaudhry backs 'chance at a normal life' for TTP militants

On Saturday, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry said wars come to a halt through talks, a day after Prime Minister Imran Khan revealed the government was in talks with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Right before that, Chaudhry supported a "normal life" for militants associated with the banned outfit TTP, who wish to pledged loyalty to the state.

Chaudhry, in a video statement, said: "Peace-loving people who wish to follow the Constitution should be given a chance to get back to a normal life."

The information minister said the government seeks to move forward with the conditions laid down by the prime minister — who had called for the disarmament of the TTP.

Chaudhry said the state's policies are made in line with the situation at hand. "The people who could not fulfil their pledge of allegiance to Pakistan want to return to fulfil this pledge."

In Balochistan, more than 3,000 "disgruntled" people have come back to a normal life, who had fallen prey to India's conspiracies, the information minister said.

The information minister noted that the country had moved past tough times, sacrificed thousands of lives, and as a result, the state was able to "beat terrorist organisations like Al Qaeda".

On Friday, PM Imran Khan, speaking to TRT World’s Ali Mustafa in Islamabad, said that the government is in talks with "some" groups of the TTP for disarmament.

"I think some of the Pakistani Taliban groups actually want to talk to our government. You know, for some peace, for some reconciliation," the prime minister said.

When asked to confirm whether Pakistan is actually in talks with the TTP, the premier clarified to say that talks are ongoing "with some of them".

He said that the Afghan Taliban are "helping", in the sense that the talks are taking place in Afghanistan.

The premier said that these talks, for disarmament, if successful, will lead to the government "forgiving" them, "and then they [will] become normal citizens".

Following the premier's comments, the outlawed group, in a statement, announced a cessation in hostilities between TTP militants in South Waziristan and the army.

Our leaders have asked all fighters to observe a ceasefire from today to October 20, the TTP statement said.

The TTP said that their leaders are engaged in some "secret talks", without elaborating any further.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/373972-sheikh-rasheed-unaware-of-talks-with-ttp

 

[MenInG]

Seventeen-year-old Israr was fast asleep when his phone rang.

It was 2am and the teenager was exhausted. He'd been working all day as a guard. On the other end of the line was his brother, who told Israr that men had barged into their family house, dragged their father outside, and shot him dead.

"He asked me to rush back home," recalled Israr, whose name has been changed for his safety.

I met Israr in Orakzai, one of seven districts in Pakistan's tribal belt. Like the provinces just over the border in Afghanistan, Orakzai is home to a predominantly Pashtun population.

Three days after Israr's father was killed, a branch of the extremist organisation Islamic State known as Islamic State Khorasan Province (IS-K), claimed responsibility for the murder.

IS-K accused Israr's father of being a Pakistani military informant, a claim rejected by Israr.

"My father just had a shop in Orakzai. He would help his tribe, especially those people who were returning to the area after being displaced due to war," Israr said.

"He had no enemies. He was one of the elders of the area."

In Afghanistan, the Taliban and IS-K are fighting a bloody war for pre-eminence.

Here in Pakistan, the picture is more murky.

The attack on Israr's father wasn't a one-off. On the same day, another man was shot dead in Orakzai, also for allegedly being an "informant" for the Pakistani military. IS-K also claimed responsibility for that attack.

Orakzai is one of seven tribal areas including Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber, Kurram, North Waziristan and South Waziristan which were previously governed under British colonial-era law.

It was only in May 2018 that they were merged with the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and turned into districts, bringing them into the Pakistani civilian fold.

There has been a surge in violence this year, according to data compiled by the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), an Islamabad-based research organisation.

Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the "ideological twin" of the Afghan Taliban, is mainly responsible. TTP wants to follow in the footsteps of its Afghan counterparts and establish their interpretation of Sharia - a hard-line form of Islamic governance - in Pakistan.

Graphic shows increase in TTP attacks
According to PIPS data, the TTP carried out 95 attacks last year, killing 140 people, and 44 attacks in the first six months of this year.

As the Afghan Taliban made rapid progress in Afghanistan and started gaining control of various provinces from July onwards, the TTP increased their activity. From July until September, the group carried out another 44 attacks, claiming 73 lives. Those killed were mostly members of Pakistan's law enforcement agencies.

And beyond the overt violence, the region has been simmering for months with threats and tension.

Some residents say they have received calls from Afghan and Pakistani numbers demanding extortion money. Ahmed - not his real name - is a social worker and businessman from Bajaur district. He told the BBC that he kept receiving calls from different numbers in July and August.

The men would introduce themselves as being from the Taliban and demand money.

"They were asking for extortion money," Ahmed said. "And despite my refusal, they kept sending me voice notes and messages on WhatsApp, threatening that if I didn't pay up they would harm me and my family."

Ahmed said he contacted the district administration and presented evidence to both civilian and military authorities.

"I repeatedly informed them about it but I was told by the administration that I am not the only person receiving these calls, and many others have received the same threats here in Bajaur.

"They told me that it's impossible to provide security to everyone, and that I must take precautions myself and install security cameras at my house."

The TTP was founded by Baitullah Mehsud in South Waziristan at the end of 2007. The militant movement was formed in response to a Pakistani military operation clearing the Lal Masjid mosque in Islamabad where a radical preacher held sway. He was once considered close to Pakistan's intelligence agency, the ISI.

According to Dr Amira Jadoon, an assistant professor at the US Military Academy at West Point, the links between the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban date back to 9/11 and the fall of the first Taliban government in Afghanistan in 2001.

Analysts say that after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan the Pakistani Taliban's leaders fought alongside the Afghan Taliban, providing food, shelter, and financial aid to the Afghan Taliban in Pakistan's tribal areas, and also pledging allegiance to them.

But after its formation, the TTP went on a rampage against the Pakistani state, targeting both civilians and security forces. The Pakistani Army retaliated and pushed the TTP leadership to Afghanistan, where it has been based since 2015, conducting a "low-intensity" warfare against Pakistan.

As the Afghan Taliban started their march on Kabul this past July, the TTP became more visible.

Pakistani Taliban chief Noor Wali Mehsud told CNN that the Afghan Taliban's victory would be a "victory for the entire Muslim people". He also had a warning for Pakistan.

"Our fight is only in Pakistan where we are at war with Pakistani security forces," he said.

"We are hoping to take control of Pakistan's border tribal region and make them independent."

Singapore-based terrorism scholar Abdul Basit believes the victory of the Afghan Taliban has "definitely emboldened" the TTP.

"They feel that if America has lost out in Afghanistan, what can Pakistan do," he said.

"Plus, they have been stoking ethnic tensions and playing up local grievances ... Essentially, the TTP is trying to exploit Pashtun victimhood."

But according to Pakistan's former national security adviser and retired three-star General, Nasir Janjua, the TTP are a "receding phenomenon".

"The TTP has lost its appeal among the masses. Their narrative to fight Pakistan because it sided with the US has outlived its shelf life since the Americans are no more in Afghanistan," he said.

"Their increased violence is their struggle for survival."

The public relations wing of the Pakistani military, the ISPR, played down the increasing number of attacks by the TTP and affiliated militants in the tribal region.

"Terrorist groups have been largely defeated. However, isolated incidents do happen," a spokesperson told the BBC.

It is commonly accepted that the Pakistani state has a historically strong relationship with the Afghan Taliban and is encouraging the world to accept their new regime in Afghanistan.

But it has also fought a bloody battle against the Pakistani Taliban over the past decade, resulting in thousands of civilian and security forces deaths across the country.

It is often referred to as Pakistan's "good and bad Taliban" strategy, where the Afghan Taliban are seen in a good light but the Pakistani Taliban in a bad light.

The military launched multiple operations to eliminate the militants from the tribal areas with hundreds of thousands of people forcibly displaced.

But the Pakistani government has also sought to negotiate a peace deal with various factions within the Pakistan Taliban down through the years.

However, the presence of IS-K in the tribal region causes yet another headache for the Pakistani authorities.

In Afghanistan, IS-K also has major differences with the Taliban, accusing them of abandoning Jihad for a negotiated settlement signed last year in Doha. IS-K considers the Taliban "apostates" and legitimate targets.

IS now represents a major security challenge for the incoming Afghan Taliban government, something the Taliban leadership shares in common with Western intelligence agencies.

"IS-K has sectarian differences with the TTP (Pakistani Taliban) and consider them to be misguided Muslims, who are agents of Pakistan, Iran and other regional forces," said Abdul Sayed, a Sweden-based independent researcher on jihadism.

But experts believe that the low-level cadre of TTP and IS-K in Pakistan consist of the same members who are fluid in their allegiance and often work for both organisations.

According to Dr Jadoon, IS-K has a bigger objective in mind than the TTP.

"IS-K seeks territorial control in pursuit of a caliphate and sees itself as the only legitimate leader of the global ummah (Muslim people)," she said.

Forced to flee
With so many militant groups in operation, life is hard for people who must live in their midst.

A former militia leader who fought the TTP alongside the Pakistani military a few years ago told me his entire family had to relocate from his village in Mohmand, a tribal district bordering Afghanistan.

"My father was martyred, my cousin was martyred, our family homes destroyed," said the former militant, Shehzad - not his real name.

"Some of our men lost their hands, some lost their legs, and some don't have either. None of us wanted to leave our village but what else can you do when there's no place to live," he said.

Ahmed, the businessman from Bajaur, also painted a gloomy picture.

"It often compels me to think about leaving my home and taking the family away. But then, where can I possibly go. How can I just walk away from my home," he said.

Israr, the young man from Orakzai, was more forthright.

"We had no choice but to leave our home when the war started 14, 15 years ago. My parents returned two years ago but now my mother has become a widow," he said.

"The government assured us that the peace has returned in the area and we should go back, but where is the peace?"

BBC

 

[Abdulm123]

"TTP is backed by RAW"

I hear a lot of posters on here and Pakistanis in general make this claim that the TTP and in some cases ISKP are backed by Indian intelligence agencies but never provide evidence for the claim. Anyone here care to enlighten me or prove that said claim is true? I'm open to all possibilities

 

[saeedhk]

There is zero evidence of Indian backing of the TTP. Our politicians and military mislead the public so as to avoid blame for not being able to rein in militants by shifting all the blame to India. This allows our security establishment avoid scrutiny and hide their incompetency.

 

[Giannis]

There's plenty of evidence, you're just too lazy and want us to do your homework for you.

Anyways, to save your time - yes, India has been indirectly supporting various groups in Afghanistan against Pakistan for a very long time and one of them happen to be the TTP. To summarize, the TTP has been supported by Afghanistan's NDS who had given them sanctuary in northeastern Afghanistan - The NDS are an Afghan intel group that get the bulk of their support from India who used vast network of consulates in Afghanistan to support troubles in Pakistan.

 

[PakLFC]

I don't know about the TTP but Gaurav Arya and Ajit Doval has openly admitted to supporting Indian terrorism in Pakistan. This is why I support ISI doing the same all over India.

 

[Napa]

If TTP was supported by India, why have they grown stronger after Taliban taking over Afghanistan?

"Resurgence of TTP's terror activities raises concern over Pak stability: Think tank"
https://www.devdiscourse.com/articl...-raises-concern-over-pak-stability-think-tank

‘After Taliban victory in Afghanistan, TTP stepped up attacks in Pakistan’
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/90...fghanistan-ttp-stepped-up-attacks-in-pakistan

Ideologically the TTP is close to the Afghan Taliban, they both want Sharia. The Afghan Taliban see the TTP as being much closer to them compared to the Pakistani generals who run Pakistan.

 

[MenInG]

Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai has said the government should not "uplift" the local Taliban and the group had no public support in the country.

She made these remarks in DawnNews' show 'Live with Adil Shahzeb' when she was asked to share her views on recent statements by Prime Minister Imran Khan and others about the government holding talks with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the possibility of reaching an agreement with the group as had been seen in America's case.

In the interview, which was recorded in Birmingham and aired tonight (Wednesday), Yousafzai said: "In my opinion, you enter into agreements when you believe that the concerns of the other side should be taken seriously [or] they are a powerful authority."

"But the Taliban have no public-level support, [people] from none of the areas [in Pakistan] are saying that they want a Taliban government. So, in my opinion, we should not uplift the Pakistan Taliban," she added.

Speaking about the Taliban in general, the Nobel laureate further said there should be no distinction between the good and bad Taliban.

"One should not differentiate between the good and bad [Taliban] as their thinking is the same — of repression [and] forcing their own laws," she said. Yousafzai reiterated that the Taliban took repressive measures, adding that they were against women's rights, girls' education and there was no justice in their governance.

“I do not see any justice system in their governance, but Islam is based on [the principles of] justice,” she said.

Girls' education
When asked about girls' education — a cause she has been working for for years — Yousafzai expressed worry over the situation in Afghanistan.

"The current temporary restriction on girls' education [in Afghanistan] shouldn't turn out to be as long as in their (Taliban's) first tenure [in the government], when the ban stretched for five years,” she said, adding that she feared that. "We don't want a repeat of their previous rule."

However, she added, pressure on the Taliban from activists and Afghan women was a positive sign.

To a question about Pakistan's role for girls' education in Afghanistan, she said the former should support and champion the cause.

"I am very much hopeful that Prime Minister Imran Khan would ... champion [the cause],” she said, urging him to push the Taliban to ensure female education and women's rights in Afghanistan.

Speaking about the Malala Fund, her non-profit organisation, and its role in Afghanistan, she said the fund was working there since 2017 and thus far, $2million had been invested in digital and female education.

Such initiatives were under way, she said, adding that the people working with the fund had to be evacuated following the recent turn of events in Afghanistan.

She said that even though Afghan Taliban leaders such as those involved in the Qatar dialogue and those who could speak English had espoused some level of liberal thought, ordinary members of the group were still following the "old mentality".

"This is why many people in Afghanistan face danger and I appeal to other countries, including Pakistan, to keep their borders open for Afghans."

Recalling that she had also written a letter to PM Imran in this regard and to ensure female education, Malala said she was still awaiting a reply.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1654376/g...taliban-says-malala-on-holding-talks-with-ttp

 

[MenInG]

PESHAWAR: Pakistani officials have reached a tentative understanding with the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to seek a broader peace agreement to end nearly two decades of militancy in the country, multiple sources familiar with the development told Dawn.

Sources said the “direct, face-to-face” talks between the two sides being held in Afghanistan’s south-western Khost province for nearly two weeks had resulted in a tentative understanding to declare a countrywide truce, conditional to the release of some TTP foot soldiers as part of confidence-building measures.

It was not immediately clear how many militants in Pakistan’s custody would be allowed to go free, but sources said the number was not more than two dozen people. “These are foot soldiers, not senior or mid-level commanders,” the sources said. “We are testing the ground. We are cautious,” they added.

“The truce will come into effect once the prisoners are released,” these sources said, requesting not to be named because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

“The tentative month-long truce shall be extendable, depending on how these negotiations go forward,” a source said.

It is not clear who from the Pakistan side is negotiating with the TTP.

The interior minister of Afghanistan’s Taliban regime, Sirajuddin Haqqani, has been playing a mediating role between Pakistan and the TTP, bringing the two sides under one roof to engage in face-to-face talks, said another source.

“Talks are being held directly between senior officers and senior TTP leadership. The TTP includes all groups without exception,” the source added. “There are several proposals on the table and both sides are working to hammer out a workable solution.”

This source made it clear that no tribal intermediaries were being engaged in talks with the TTP leadership at the moment. “They will be engaged at the appropriate time,” the source maintained.

In an interview with a Turkish news channel last month, Prime Minister Imran Khan had acknowledged that his government was in talks with the TTP so that they may surrender arms and reconcile in return for amnesty “to be able to live like ordinary citizens”.

The TTP had rejected Mr Khan’s amnesty offer, insisting their struggle was for the enforcement of Shariah in Pakistan.

Pakistani security officials have been pressing the Afghan Taliban to shut down TTP bases on their soil in line with their international commitments, citing increase in the number of attacks and casualties in Pakistan.

Shortly before the Afghan Taliban takeover, the movement had constituted a three-member high-powered commission to engage with the TTP in a bid to persuade it to cease hostilities against Pakistan. The Afghan Taliban leadership, knowledgeable sources had said at the time, was reluctant to use force, referring to tribal affinities and their joint fight and sacrifices against foreign occupation in Afghanistan.

Attention was then diverted towards those deemed amenable to negotiations, while the Afghan Taliban continued to work on a reluctant TTP leadership to engage with senior Pakistani intermediaries for direct, face-to-face talks.

Some government officials said that while many TTP foot soldiers and others were tired and weary of the fighting and living in exile and wanted to avail the amnesty offer, some militant leaders, including TTP chief Mufti Noor Wali and Jamaatul Ahrar leader Omar Khalid Khurasani, were proving to be “hard nuts” and resisting negotiations. “Now, every one of them is on board,” a source said.

The TTP has yet to confirm or deny the talks or the tentative understanding reached between the two sides.

Pakistani military had launched a major operation against militants in North Waziristan, the last redoubt of the TTP, forcing militants to flee across the border into neighbouring Afghanistan. But the militants using the sanctuary in the neighbouring country have been launching frequent cross-border attacks, assassinations, fire-raids and bombings in different parts of the country.

Such attacks have seen an uptick since the Afghan Taliban takeover of Kabul in mid-August.

Published in Dawn, November 5th, 2021

 

[MenInG]

PESHAWAR: The PTI-led government has asked the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to lay down their arms and surrender, sources within the Afghan Taliban informed Geo News on Friday.

According to the sources, Afghan Taliban commander Sirajuddin Haqqani is playing a key role in ceasefire talks and is working to make negotiations between the PTI-led government and the banned outfit a success.

Per the sources, chief of the banned TTP Mufti Noor Wali is leading the talks from the group's side.

The banned outfit has maintained that it would be "too early to" lay down arms and has demanded the government release their members from prison.

The government has not reacted to the demands of the banned outfit yet, the Afghan Taliban sources said, adding that negotiations could be successful if strong guarantors are provided and the outfit's conditions are accepted.

They added that while some factions of the banned TTP are in favour of holding talks with the Pakistani government, others are still taking a hardline approach.

Pakistan in talks with TTP factions for disarmament: PM Imran Khan
It should be recalled that last month, Prime Minister Imran Khan had admitted that his government was in disarmament talks with some factions of the banned TTP as Pakistan sought stability in the country in the backdrop of a fast-evolving situation in Afghanistan.

PM Imran Khan, speaking to TRT World’s Ali Mustafa in Islamabad, said: "I think some of the Pakistani Taliban groups actually want to talk to our government. You know, for some peace, for some reconciliation."

When asked to confirm whether Pakistan is actually in talks with the TTP, the premier had clarified to say that talks are ongoing "with some of them".

He had said that the Afghan Taliban are "helping", in the sense that the talks are taking place in Afghanistan.

The premier had said that these talks, for disarmament, if successful, will lead to the government "forgiving" them, "and then they [will] become normal citizens".

Stressing that he does expect some sort of deal to emerge with the TTP, he said: "I do not believe in military solutions. I am anti-military solutions. So, I always believe that you know, as a politician, political dialogue is the way forward, which I always believed was the case in Afghanistan with the US."

The premier had noted he always believed that a non-military solution was the only way forward for Afghanistan — and he has reiterated it time and again on national, international forums.

The premier's announcement was met with stiff resistance and outrage by the Opposition.

Early last month, a cessation in hostilities between the TTP, Pakistan fighters in South Waziristan, and the army was announced by the outlawed group in a statement.

Our leaders have asked all fighters to observe a ceasefire from today to October 20, the TTP statement said.

The TTP said that their leaders are engaged in some "secret talks", without elaborating any further.

GEO

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2327849/ttp-demands-prisoner-release-as-condition-for-talks-with-govt

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has demanded that the government release a number of prisoners as a condition for talks aimed at laying the ground for full ceasefire negotiations, multiple sources in the group said.

The group has had two rounds of preliminary talks, facilitated by the Afghan Taliban, a commander based in the Afghan province of Kunar said.

Sources close to the matter said Sirajuddin Haqqani, the head of the Haqqani Network and the current Afghan Taliban interior minister, was helping the talks.

Last month, Prime Minister Imran Khan told Turkey's TRT television that the government was in talks with parts of the TTP as part of a "reconciliation process".

The release of the prisoners is meant to be a confidence-building measure, three TTP commanders said, adding that the outcome of the talks was still uncertain.

"We aren't too hopeful of the immediate results of the talks but our leaders had demanded the release of prisoners if they are sincere in meaningful negotiations," a TTP commander told Reuters from Afghanistan's Kunar province.

No comment was available from the Pakistani government. The interior ministry, foreign ministry and the ISPR, the armed forces communications wing, did not respond to emailed requests for comment.

According to negotiators, the two sides agreed not to issue statements either supporting or opposing the peace process or against each other till the accord is signed and made public.

TTP spokesperson Muhammad Khurasani claimed in a text message the group had "never refused meaningful talks" but that there were no developments on the ground yet.

Another TTP commander said the group's leadership had consulted all factions in the movement, some of which had serious reservations about talking to the government, but he said many ordinary fighters wanted to go home.

 

[MenInG]

Days before the Afghan Taliban were at the gates of Kabul, Pakistan was already in talks with the government in-waiting to deal with terrorist outfits such as banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Baloch groups which have been for years operating out of the neighbouring country.

Pakistani officials in their interactions with the Taliban leadership made a clear demand that all these groups must not only be denied space to operate but also sought military action against them.

After Taliban captured Kabul on August 15, Pakistan shared a list of most-wanted terrorists seeking their extradition.

The Taliban leadership came up with a proposal, offering Pakistan their good offices to initiate talks with the TTP and its affiliates. But at the same time the interim Taliban government promised military action against those groups, which were not willing to reconcile, according to sources familiar with the development.

It was because of this reason that Pakistan initiated talks with the TTP. The two sides reportedly held at least three face-to-face meetings. One was held in Kabul while the other two took place in Khost.

The chief of Haqqani network, Sirajuddin Haqqani, is thought to have played a role of mediator. Although there was no official confirmation, reports suggested that the TTP agreed to announce a month-long ceasefire in return for Pakistan releasing dozens of terrorist group's prisoners.

"I can neither confirm nor deny the reports of talks between Pakistan and the TTP," Pakistan’s Ambassador to Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmed Khan told The Express Tribune.

He, however, said engagement with the TTP or its affiliates should be seen in the context of counter-terrorism efforts and a strategy agreed between Pakistan and the Taliban government.

"When we go for the solution of any problem, there are ways to deal with it," the envoy said, adding that there were elements within terrorist groups who might be willing to reconcile and others who might be dealt with military action.

It is believed that Pakistan is trying to woo reconcilable elements within the TTP and its affiliates. The aim of this strategy is particularly focused on the foot soldiers. If Pakistan succeeds in wooing reconcilable elements, it would weaken the terrorist outfit, according to officials familiar with the government strategy.

When asked whether Pakistan initiated talks with the TTP because of the Taliban government's refusal to take military action against it, Ambassador Mansoor said this was not the case.

"The Taliban government has not said at any stage it would protect the TTP or give them sanctuary. At every stage they have assured us that no group would be allowed to use Afghan soil against Pakistan," the ambassador said.

He referred to the October 21 visit of Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to Kabul where according to the ambassador, the Taliban gave a very "positive response" to Pakistan’s demand for tackling TTP and other anti-Pakistan groups.

Qureshi was accompanied by DG ISI Lt General Faiz Hameed and other officials.

"The Taliban government assured us that military action will be taken against all such groups," Ambassador Mansoor said. He went on to add that the Taliban government would not allow its soil to be used against Pakistan or any other country. "These groups will be eliminated," claimed the ambassador, who frequently interacts with the Taliban government.

Pakistan is believed to have reached an understanding with the Taliban government on the two-pronged strategy. Pakistan, at the request of the Taliban government, agreed to give talks a chance. If those efforts failed, the Taliban government would take military action against the TTP and other groups threatening Pakistan.

But the ambassador had a word of caution, saying at this stage one must not comment on the outcome of the ongoing efforts to deal with the TTP. He said the matter was being dealt by the relevant security institutions in Pakistan.

 

[MenInG]

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has expressed serious concerns over the ongoing talks between the government and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), saying that any agreement with the banned outfit will have no legitimacy without parliament’s approval.

He said this while speaking to media following an in-camera session of the national security committee of the parliament, wherein military officials briefed the lawmakers on security related matters.

His statement comes soon after Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry confirmed that the PTI government had reached an agreement of a "complete ceasefire" with the TTP.

The minister said authorities in neighbouring Taliban-controlled Afghanistan had facilitated the talks.

The PPP leader said that he will not comment on the session because the briefing was in camera and off the record.

As far as the policy about Afghanistan is concerned, Bilawal said, negotiations or any agreement with the TTP cannot be reached unilaterally without taking the approval of National Assembly and Senate.

“Any policy without the approval of the parliament will have no legitimacy,” he added.

Bilawal said that he will continue to criticise the government for holding negotiations with the TTP since no one was taken on board on the matter.

“Who are they to decide on begging the TTP for talks and unilaterally engage the TTP which martyred our soldiers, national leadership and the children of APS? A policy approved by the parliament will be a better policy with legitimacy,” he remarked.

Later, Bilawal along with other PPP parliamentarians attended a meeting at the Opposition Leader's chamber in the National Assembly.

Talking to journalists after the meeting, he said that the entire opposition stood united against the government on the issue of price hike.

Bilawal said the government's bid to “steal the votes” through electronic voting machines and “political victimisation” through amending the NAB ordinance was apparent.

“We will raise a unanimous voice for the people in the parliament and will defeat the conspiracy of rigging elections and political victimisation,” he added.

 

[MenInG]

Information and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Tuesday said that the state of Pakistan cannot fight an "indefinite" war with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), saying that the government wanted to give "its citizens a chance if they respect Constitution of Pakistan and its legal framework”.

"Ultimately, the wars are fought in order to bring back peace. You have to conclude wars. So our point of view is that Pakistan must talk from the position of strength and we believe that after this change in Afghanistan [we are in position of strength] and even the authorities in Afghanistan want us to negotiate and make a deal with TTP," Fawad said while addressing a press conference following a federal cabinet meeting in Islamabad.

"States do not fight a perpetual war. We want to give chance to those who express their allegiance to the Constitution of Pakistan and respect Pakistan's legal framework."

Information Minister said that the government of Pakistan believed that the authorities in Afghanistan wanted peace in Pakistan.

He said that the ongoing talks with the TTP would be under the purview of the Constitution of Pakistan, adding that all the groups that the government was engaged with would have to respect the Constitution.

"We believe that there are certain groups [in TTP]. There are ideologues, there are people who have legitimate grievances. There are people who took this course on compulsion but all of them are Pakistanis so the state of Pakistan wants to give its citizens a chance. If all of them, some of them or part of them want to come back, then they have to express their allegiance to the Constitution of Pakistan. They undertake to respect the law of Pakistan then obviously we will give them a chance.”

Fawad said locals and those who were affected by the insurgency in the affected areas will be made part of the negotiation process. "20 years have passed [since the start of war]... an entirely new generation has formed and they are not responsible for the actions of their fathers, grandfathers or big brothers," he added.

He said that even the TTP issued a proclamation in which they announced a ceasefire yesterday.

'Pakistan to recognise Afghan govt after regional countries'

Answering a question, the minister said that Pakistan wanted an inclusive government in Afghanistan.

"We will recognise the Taliban-led government after it is recognised by the regional countries."

Humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan

Fawad urged the global community, especially Muslim Ummah, to rally support for averting the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

He said that a formal approval to set up a special fund for the support of Afghan people in turbulent times was also given in today’s cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan.

He said that the initiative would definitely enable the people of Pakistan to extend direct help to their Afghan brethren as the government wanted uninterrupted humanitarian efforts for the war-ravaged country.

The minister said that Pakistan was planning to host a conference of foreign ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) next month to discuss ways and means for extending maximum support to Afghanistan at this critical juncture.

“We believe what is going on in Afghanistan is catastrophic; we have been trying our best, and did our best to convey our concerns to the world and we are willing to take all actions whatever we can to help people of Afghanistan,” he remarked.

Pakistan was working closely with the interim government in Afghanistan, he said, adding that a visit of the interim Afghan foreign minister to Islamabad was due tomorrow during which efforts for humanitarian assistance would be discussed at length to avert any catastrophic situation in Afghanistan.

He said that Pakistan had already warned that the situation in Afghanistan was becoming more grave by every day and added that Afghans would be the ultimate sufferers.

Citing a recent report in The Economist, he said: “Afghanistan was on the brink of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, and the UN said on October 25 that it would even exceed the misery in Syria and Yemen.”

The international journal also quoted a new report from the UN agencies in its story estimating that some 23 million, out of the country’s 38 million people, would not have enough food to get through the winter unless aid was rapidly scaled up.

Fawad said that before fall of Kabul in August, per capita daily income was $1.9 which according to UN estimates would be halved by June next year.

'Afghans cannot be left at mercy of circumstances'

He said that gravity of the situation could be judged by the fact that eight children had died due to starvation amid troubling reports that people were forced to sell their minor children for getting wheat and rice. "The Afghan people could not be left at the mercy of the circumstances," he added.

He said that the cabinet had decided that the country would dispatch a sufficient amount of wheat and rice to Afghanistan to save its people from starvation in winter. “Measures are being taken so that exports from Afghanistan can be eased out. We have slashed all taxes on exports from Afghanistan,” he added.

The information minister said that the reason behind the situation was that foreign assets of Afghanistan’s government had been frozen, while the entire aid was suspended and the whole economy of the neighbouring country had been squeezed.

About the other decisions of the federal cabinet, the minister said that the prime minister had directed the members to ensure presence in the joint session of the Parliament as legislation of electoral reforms and other issues were on the cards.

Keeping in view the spike in oil and gas prices at international market and illegal use of the gas in some sectors, he said the federal cabinet had increased gas prices for captive power plants to $9 per MBTU (Million British Thermal Unit) from $6.5 per MBTU. Likewise, the RLNG rate for different units of the exports sector units will remain unchanged ($6.5 per MBTU).

The prices would come into effect on November 15, 2021, and would remain intact till March 31, 2022, he added.

‘Cheapest gas in the world’

He said some sectors were misusing the subsidy on gas to produce electricity which was already excessive in the country. The initiative was taken to remove that specific anomaly.

There has been a worldwide crisis of gas, he said while citing examples of the United Kingdom where the commodity prices had witnessed a marked increase.

To avoid misuse of the scheme, the government had decided to take the subsidy back from the industrial sector till March 31, 2022, as the gas crisis was likely to ease after March.

He clarified that this had nothing to do with domestic consumers. Only 27 per cent domestic consumers used local gas while 77 per cent of them relied on Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG). Those 27 per cent were getting a major subsidy at the expense of the 77 per cent.

"The 77 per cent of the population were paying for the gas which was being used in the cities at the cheapest rate in the world," he added.

“Whenever we talk about the 77 per cent population, the media starts creating hype over increase in the gas prices. The oil and gas [prices] are connected with the international market and the country will not uplift if we continue to give subsidies on different commodities to a certain portion of the population”, he added.

He said sensational reporting had somewhat become a norm which eventually hurt the market sentiment. “This issue does not damage us but also the country… we will resolve this soon.”

Fawad said that it has been decided that Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance Shaukat Tarin would head the committee on wheat and sugar exports.

The cabinet, he said, had given the approval to export wheat to Afghanistan under the World Food Programme, keeping in view the emergency situation in the country.

The information minister said that the cabinet has given a six-month extension to Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement 2010.

The new Director General of Pakistan Maritime Security Agency has also been appointed, he added.

 

[cricket4all]

Off course as PM and the party in power they have the authority,

 

[MenInG]

National Security Adviser (NSA) Moeed Yusuf said on Wednesday that no decision had been taken yet to grant amnesty to members of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), emphasising that the state was "very clear and sensitive" on the issue.

He made the comment in an interview on DawnNews programme Live with Adil Shahzeb.

At the outset, Yusuf talked about the government's decision to hold talks with the TTP, saying the militant group had been receiving support from India and Afghan intelligence for the last 10-15 years.

Pakistan had repeatedly told the international community that the Pakistani Taliban had fled to Afghanistan following the Zarb-i-Azb military operation, received sanctuary and were launching attacks from the neighbouring country, the NSA said.

"We gave the whole dossier last year containing [details] of which attack, from where, how much money was spent, pictures of receipts, everything," he said, referring to the report revealed by the government in November 2020 containing proofs of India's involvement in terrorism in Pakistan.

"When the situation changed [after the Taliban's takeover] ... the Afghan Taliban are not as antagonistic towards Pakistan as former president Ashraf Ghani. Now the discussion started that the TTP does not have the support base that they (Ghani's government) and India provided.

"You talk from a position of strength and try to reason. If any Pakistani has strayed from the path and if he [wants to become] a law-abiding citizen according to the laws of Pakistan and the Constitution [...] It means if you have committed a crime or terrorism in Pakistan, you will follow the due process of the law."

When the host asked him whether he was referring to an amnesty, the NSA responded by saying that no such decision had been taken yet.

"I don't know where this talk started from — that a decision has been made. There is no such decision [of a general amnesty]."

He said the government was aware that agreements with the TTP in the past had not held, adding that at the present stage, talks were being held and the government would see if the TTP was serious.

"The state's job is to defend its public and not to go with the kinetic option — using bullets — until it becomes impossible to avoid it," he stressed.

"This is an emotional issue. No Pakistani is left who has not been directly or indirectly affected by terrorism."

In response to another question about opposition lawmakers not being satisfied with the security briefing given last week, Yusuf said: "It is their choice. The state can only inform.

"This is a decision of the entire nation. These processes [of talks] will continue."

Talking about the need to hold talks with the TTP, Yusuf said world history, data and statistics showed that an overwhelming majority of conflicts ended with dialogue.

"If you take the position to look at their past, then talks cannot be held. You have to fight till the end," he added.

Govt-TLP agreement
Yusuf also defended the controversial agreement between the government and the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), saying avoiding bloodshed was the foremost priority of the government.

"The state always has several options besides the use of bullet, but it is the responsibility of the state to save its citizens," he maintained.

The NSA said he was sure that the TLP had Indian support but that did not mean there was direct funding or persons directly involved with them in Pakistan. "It is the age of hybrid war and everything is possible," he said.

Afghan Taliban
On the subject of Afghanistan's new rulers, Yusuf said Pakistan did not hold much control over the Afghan Taliban, unlike the common belief. "We do not hold much sway over Afghan Taliban," he stated, adding that Afghanistan was an independent country and its government had its own way of running affairs.

The NSA warned the international community that a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan would not hurt just the Taliban but also the common man, whom the United States and the West wanted to save and rescue.

"So the world must come to help Afghans beyond the rhetoric of the international community recognising Afghanistan," he remarked.

Yusuf also said any crisis in Afghanistan would mean the first and foremost impact would be on Pakistan.

Answering a question, he said whatever was agreed with the United States related to Afghanistan would be transparent unlike in the past.

"We will share everything with the public and not hide anything unlike the past and keep it transparent," he stressed.

When asked about airspace and other logistical support the US had sought from Pakistan, the NSA said "the US is confused as there are lots of goings-on so it is unclear what they are up to." But he added that Pakistan was in talks with Washington on different issues including health and climate change.

DAWN

 

[MenInG]

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) wants to open a political office in a third country is part of one of the three demands the terrorist groups made to Pakistani authorities during their initial talks.

Pakistan and the TTP entered into a month-long truce starting November 9. The ceasefire was the result of a series of meetings held between the Pakistani officials and the TTP representatives in Afghanistan. The talks were brokered by the Taliban government, particularly the Haqqani network. Both sides held at least three rounds of talks—one in Kabul and the other two meetings took place in Khost.

The Pakistan government and the TTP also formed committees to take the process forward and try to convert the ceasefire into a permanent peace deal.

As per sources, the TTP in a series of meetings with Pakistani officials made three demands that include allowing the opening of a political office in a third country, reversal of the Federal Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) merger with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and introduction of Islamic system in Pakistan.

But Pakistani authorities told the TTP directly and through Taliban interlocutors that these demands were not acceptable. The TTP was particularly told in categorical terms that there was no question of introducing an Islamic system based on their interpretation. Also the terrorist group was told that Pakistan is an Islamic republic and the country’s Constitution clearly states that all laws in Pakistan have to be in conformity with the teachings of Islam.

The Pakistani officials told the TTP that the state of Pakistan could only allow them to restart their lives if they fulfil certain conditions. Those conditions include accepting the writ of the state, laying down arms, and public apology over the terrorist acts committed by them. If they meet those demands, Pakistan can consider giving them amnesty, paving way for their mainstreaming.

There have been concerns over Pakistan's approach while dealing with the TTP when it was successfully driven out of the country. In a closed-door briefing, members of parliament were told that Pakistan was negotiating from a position of strength. They were informed that the return of the Afghan Taliban to power provided a window of opportunity to neutralise the TTP and other terrorist outfits.

When the Taliban took over Kabul in August, Pakistan handed the new government a list of demands including seeking action against the TTP terrorists operating out of Afghanistan.

The Taliban government, however, instead of taking action against them offered Pakistan its “good offices” to seek a solution through talks.

Pakistan accepted the offer in the hope that the Afghan Taliban would not act as mediators but guarantors of any peace deal with the TTP.

Parliament was told during the national security briefing that a final peace deal would be struck taking into account all the factors and even traditional jirgas and other local customs would be employed to make sure that the TTP does not take up arms again.

Observers, however, are wary of the positive outcome of ongoing talks with the TTP as terrorist groups used peace deals in the past to regroup.

 

[MenInG]

Security officials as well as the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have rejected as false reports that a group of over 100 TTP prisoners has been released amid peace negotiations between the two sides.

The remarks came in the wake of media reports that the government had released over 100 TTP prisoners as a goodwill gesture in the wake of the ceasefire announced by the militant group.

“Media reports about the release of 100 TTP’s prisoners are not true. However, the TTP fully honours the ceasefire agreement,” TTP spokesperson Mohammad Khorasani told Dawn.com.

“The negotiation teams have not yet sat on the table so reports about conditions and demands are premature,” Khorasani added, in response to earlier reports that the TTP has floated several demands, one of which was stated to be the release of prisoners.


Meanwhile, security officials too denied the release of any TTP prisoners.

"I can confirm that no one has been freed so far," an official familiar with the negotiations process told Dawn.com.

“Nothing so far,” another security official said summarily on the topic.

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, when reached for comment, said he has asked "relevant people" and will revert soon.

Ceasefire agreement
Earlier this month, Chaudhry had confirmed for the first time that a ceasefire had been reached with the TTP, saying that talks were under way “in line with the Constitution” and the ceasefire could be extended keeping in view the progress made in the talks.

The same day, a statement issued by TTP spokesman Mohammad Khurasani had confirmed the temporary truce, adding that it would be effective for a month, from November 9 till December 9.

The announcement had come a little over a month after Prime Minister Imran Khan had stated that the government was in talks with some TTP groups, seeking a reconciliation.

"There are different groups which form the TTP and some of them want to talk to our government for peace. So, we are in talks with them. It’s a reconciliation process," the premier had said during an interview with TRT World.

Two days after the ceasefire agreement, however, National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf had clarified that that no decision had been taken yet to grant amnesty to members of the TTP, emphasising that the state was "very clear and sensitive" on the issue.

Responding to questions about the truce deal in an interview on DawnNews programme Live with Adil Shahzeb, the NSA had said the government was aware that agreements with the TTP in the past had not held, adding that at the present stage, talks were being held and the government would see if the TTP was serious.

Afghan Taliban's role
Days after the ceasefire announcement, acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi had said during his visit to Islamabad that the Afghan Taliban were mediating between the Government of Pakistan and the TTP.

He added that the two sides had not yet reached an agreement, but the process had seen a “good” start, leading to the announcement of a month-long ceasefire.

Dawn had earlier reported that the interior minister of Afghanistan’s Taliban regime, Sirajuddin Haqqani, has been playing a mediating role between Pakistan and the TTP, bringing the two sides under one roof to engage in face-to-face talks.

 

[MenInG]

So a new ceasefire negotiated.

Same question can be asked of Shehbaz Sharif [MENTION=135038]Major[/MENTION]?

 

[Major]

So a new ceasefire negotiated.

Same question can be asked of Shehbaz Sharif [MENTION=135038]Major[/MENTION]?

Pmln dont even have the power in such matters. Seems to be china doing the talking

 

[MenInG]

KARACHI: The Pakistan government has released 30 Taliban inmates, Geo News sources reported.

According to the sources, talks between the government and proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) finally resumed on Tuesday.

The sources said the released TTP militants included Hazrat Ali, Laiq Shah and Shahabullah from North Waziristan, Eid Muhammad, Noor Aslam and Gulzar Khan from South Waziristan, Sher Zaman, Muhammad Anwar, Muhammad Hamayun, Bahram, Samiullah and Aijaz from Dera Ismail Khan, Shah Zareen and Saeedullah from Bajour Agency, Akbar Zeb, Fazl Haq, Fazl Rabbi and Mehboob Ali from Swat, Bakht Nabi, Khan Zareen and Ahmed Shah from Shangla, Muhammadullah from Khyber district, Ahmed Shah, Saeed-ul-Islam, Abdullah, Rahimullah, Zakirullah and Ahmed Saeed from Dir. However, no high-profile TTP inmate has been released, the sources said.

No official sources have yet confirmed the news regarding the release of the TTP inmates.

GEO

==

If true - very sad.

 

[mazkhan]

This has nothing to do with the government whether it was pti or the coalition of crooks.

This is our Charlie's who go into wars and then lose and through ispr propaganda tool spin defeats into victories or pin blame on the civilian government like kargil.

They simply don't have the power to tackle the ttp after 20 yrs of fighting and massive casualties .
Only problem is usa will never allow ttp to have an emirate in fata because they will put pressure on pakistan about terrorist havens so will start using economic blackmail and sanctions .

 

[saeedhk]

Pakistan is a truly banana republic. After losing 80,000 of its citizens, the state is negotiating with terrorists. Has any other country borne this many casualties and then went on to announce amnesty for terrorists and released terror convicts. Shameful! Utterly hopeless! The state is very weak!

 

[Abstraction1]

This is neither the fault if PTI or PDM.

It's the Army's failurem

 

[MenInG]

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Saturday said that all decisions related to terrorism, including those connected to ongoing talks with the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), must be made by parliament.

Bilawal, who is also the foreign minister and has mentioned on several occasions that he has been personally affected by terrorism, said the party would reach out to its allies to build a consensus on the way forward.

"PPP held a high-level meeting to discuss the issue of terrorism, particularly in light of recent developments in Afghanistan, with the TTA (Tehreek-i-Taliban Afghanistan) & TTP. PPP believes that all decisions must be taken by parliament," he tweeted.

Senior party leaders — Yousuf Raza Gilani, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Murad Ali Shah, Sherry Rehman, Khursheed Shah, Faryal Talpur, Nayyer Bukhari, Najmuddin, Faisal Karim Kundi, Humayun Khan, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Chaudhry Yasin, Chaudhry Manzoor, Nadeem Afzal Chan, Akhunzada Chattan, Rukhsana Bangash, Nisar Khuhro and Farhatullah Babar — attended the meeting which was chaired by Bilawal and former president Asif Ali Zardari.

Akhundzada Chattan was also a part of the Pakistani tribal delegation that flew to Kabul to join negotiations early this month.

In a statement issued after the Saturday meeting, the PPP said the party had reiterated that all decisions must be taken by the parliament, and thus, the parliament must be taken on board.

The Afghan Taliban's interim government is facilitating peace talks between Islamabad and the TTP whose leadership is already in Kabul.

Last month, the government and the TTP had agreed to extend a ceasefire, this time, indefinitely and continue negotiations to find an end to the nearly two decades of militancy in the tribal border region.

Later, a 50-member tribal jirga had also joined the talks. A Pakistani official in Kabul had told Dawn.com at the time that the talks had "entered a serious phase" with some progress.

A Dawn editorial at the time had said that if the TTP's demands were to be met, it would amount to a surrender of the state's authority over parts of the erstwhile tribal belt where the militants are active.

"Militant groups should not be allowed to dictate to the state where security forces can and cannot go. Moreover, the merger of Fata and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2018 came about as part of a constitutional process, and cannot be undone to accommodate the TTP's whims ... considering this chequered history, prospects of a durable peace with the militants are bleak," it had said.

The PPP has previously opposed talks with the TTP during the tenure of the previous PTI government and questioned why parliament was not taken into confidence. PPP Chairman Bilawal had termed the talks a "betrayal of the blood of martyrs".

Dawn

 

[MenInG]

Following ceasefire announced by Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Foreign Minister and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Sunday formed a committee to engage other political parties for taking up the issue in parliament.

According to the PPP secretariat, the party chairman in continuation of the party meeting on Saturday discussed the issue of terrorism in the country, particularly in the light of recent developments in Afghanistan involving Afghan Taliban and the banned TTP.

The three-member committee formed by Mr Bhutto-Zardari comprises Qamar Zaman Kaira, Sherry Rehman and Farhatullah Babar.

It may be mentioned that after an in-depth discussion on the issue on Saturday, the party had reiterated its position that the parliament alone was the best forum for a conversation on the issue.


In the first week of this month, the banned TTP formally announced an indefinite ceasefire with Pakistan following two days of talks with a grand tribal jirga in Kabul. The group has set a major condition of reversal of the merger of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to cut any peace deal with Pakistan.

The PPP meeting discussed questions like the purpose of the entire exercise, the forces behind it and the desired objectives.

In a related development, speakers at a consultation here were of the opinion that Pakistan needed to be “assertive” and should negotiate with the TTP from a “position of strength”.

Lawmakers, academicians, former diplomats, retired army officers and experts on security and Afghan affairs participated in the discussion on ‘Afghan peace and reconciliation: Pakistan’s interests and policy options’ organised by Islamabad-based Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS).

Former corps commander and inspector general (IG) of Frontier Corps retired Lt Gen Tariq Khan was not in favour of talks with the banned group. “If we have to talk to them, we should only negotiate on the terms of surrender,” he said.

Referring to the condition of the TTP about reversal of Fata’s merger, he showed surprise and questioned how a militant group can demand to govern a part of Pakistani territory.

Former national coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta) Ihsan Ghani was not hopeful that Pakistan would be successful in signing any peace agreement with the group. “If this happened, any such agreement would be an eyewash and short-lived.”

Published in Dawn, June 13th, 2022

 

[Firebat]

Rabbani wants parliament to steer talks with TTP

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Mian Raza Rabbani on Monday has said that the talks with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) needed to be made part of a national debate in which parliament, experts, military commanders who fought against them and civil society are a part of the debate.

Rabbani issued a statement wherein he maintained that making peace with the TTP will have far-reaching consequences on the constitutional boundaries of the federation within, on the creation of a parallel justice system, the rule of law and the constitution.

The two tribal jirgas sent to negotiate cannot be a replacement for the collective wisdom of parliament, he said.

The parliament has always risen beyond party lines while considering matters of national security, be it the terms of engagement with the US or operations against terrorists in Swat, Khyber and Waziristan, the PPP senator added.

According to Rabbani, the Pakistani people have the right to decide their future; therefore, let a consensus decision be arrived at through a debate in which the parliament leads.

A day earlier, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari formed a three-member committee to liaise with political parties on the recent developments related to talks with the Afghan Taliban and the banned outfit TTP.

The three-member committee comprises PPP's senior leaders Sherry Rehman, Farhatullah Babar and Qamar Zaman Kaira, and will take other political parties on board over the matter.

The development came after a series of meetings were held between representatives of Pakistan and the outlawed TTP in Kabul to broker a peace deal. The Afghan Taliban are acting as a mediator.

A tribal jirga, comprising elders, politicians and others from erstwhile tribal areas, also visited Afghanistan and met the TTP leaders. The flurry of meetings led to the banned outfit announcing an indefinite ceasefire.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2361336/rabbani-wants-parliament-to-steer-talks-with-ttp