"The aim of the 30-day cease-fire is to see whether or not they (TTP) are serious and want to carry the process forward," Moeed Yusuf, Pakistan's national security advisor, told a local television channel last Saturday. TTP has also called for implementing an Islamic system in Pakistan in accordance with the group's own interpretation of Islamic law.īut Pakistani officials have long rejected as unacceptable those demands, ruling out any discussions on the constitution, the status of the troops or the border districts that once served as TTP strongholds and also provided sanctuary to the Afghan Taliban. TTP has long demanded the government withdraw troops from northwestern districts lining the border with Afghanistan and restore the traditional semiautonomous status of the region that once served as strongholds for local and foreign militants, including the Afghan Taliban. "These are the red lines for advancing the dialogue," emphasized the official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to publicly discuss the status of the peace effort.
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Pakistani officials privy to the meetings with TTP insisted the talks "are still at a very early stage" and "it is too soon" to expect any progress or discuss possible outcomes.Ī security official told VOA the government has initiated the process only to determine whether TTP militants are willing to "surrender to Pakistan's constitution, submit themselves to the National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) to obtain national identification cards" and lay down their arms. Muttaqi did not elaborate further but said they were hopeful the process would produce a settlement.
Officials in Islamabad say TTP continues to pose a threat from its sanctuaries on the Afghan side and approached the neighboring country's new Taliban government to help contain the threat.Īmir Khan Muttaqi, the foreign minister of the Afghan government, confirmed during his official visit to Islamabad earlier this month his government had brokered the peace talks and the ensuing temporary truce. Thousands of militants were also killed in the process. Leaders and fighters of the militant outfit have taken refuge in Afghanistan after fleeing army-led counter militancy operations against their strongholds in Pakistani border areas. The TTP, commonly known as the Pakistani Taliban, comprises about two dozen banned militant groups and has been waging deadly terrorist attacks against security forces as well as civilians in Pakistan for many years. A month-long truce between Pakistan and the outlawed militant alliance known as the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) largely held into a 15th day Tuesday as the two adversaries negotiate a peace deal, with neighboring Afghanistan's ruling Taliban mediating the talks.