Pakistan's military leadership to hold peace talks with banned Tehreek-i-Taliban

A parliamentary committee has recently given approval to Pakistan's military leadership to conduct peace negotiations with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a banned organisation, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah has informed. He further highlighted that not a single negotiation or an agreement would be achieved outside the Constitution of Pakistan, Dawn reported. He added that the negotiations would only take place in accordance with Pakistani law under the constitution.  

Furthermore, on Saturday, Sanaullah stated that the committee would be updated on any developments which would happen during the negotiations by the military leadership and then Parliament would consider the issue.  

On June 22, the military had promised the Pakistani political leadership that during the continuing negotiations, no extra-constitutional concessions would be given to the outlawed TTP and that any agreement reached with the terrorist organisation would require parliamentary approval, PTI reported. Further, these statements were made by the military leadership during a meeting with the political leaders which was hosted at Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's House. Notably, this meeting was considered to be the first between the national political leadership and the military, which has been in talks with the TTP in Afghanistan with the assistance of the Afghan Taliban.  

TTP attacked Pakistani security forces

Apart from this, earlier in the month of February, The TTP had attacked a police station in Dera Ismail Khan, in which two Pakistan Police officers lost their lives. The incident occurred after both parties, the TTP and Pakistani security forces, agreed to a month-long "full truce" in November 2021. According to experts, since the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan, TTP-spewed violence has picked up steam as its causes have become more pressing.  

Meanwhile, Imran Khan, the former prime minister, disclosed in October of last year that negotiations with the TTP were ongoing, PTI reported. Khan also stated that negotiations with the insurgents were proceeding in Afghanistan with assistance from the newly installed Taliban government. Notably, violence has been committed by the TTP for over ten years and all efforts to stop violence have so far been ineffective. 

The TTP carried out approximately 46 assaults this year, largely against security forces, as per the database of the Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies, in which 79 people died. 

After the discussions were discreetly restarted in April, the TTP declared a cease-fire in honour of Eid ul Fitr in May. The ceasefire has now been in effect for three months. As events have developed, it has continued to be extended, PTI reported. 

Over the years, the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan has been seeking to remove the security forces from the former tribal regions, the 2018 merger of tribal agencies with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa be revoked, the release of its fighters, and compensation for their harm. In contrast to it, Pakistani authorities are calling for the dissolving of the terrorist group, the laying down of arms, and respect for the Constitution. 

(Image: AP)