Pakistan government representatives and a Pakistan Taliban nominated committee met to discuss the agenda for talks under the Constitution to end the bloody insurgency in Wazirstan bordering Afghanistan. The Taliban had carried out hundreds of bombings and killed about 40,000 people in the confrontation. The Pakistan government demanded that the agreement should be enforceable only in troubled areas or the tribal belt adjacent to Afghanistan. Both sides came up with recommendations but nothing positive emerged. Moulana Samiul Haq, father of the Tehrik-e-Taliban (T-e-T) stated that any interference with peace talks should be avoided. Government representatives also wanted peace within a short time frame.
The insurgency was launched by the Pakistan Taliban in Wazirstan in 2007. Recently, US drone bombings and then a full scale air offensive by the Pakistan air force heightened tension significantly. The Pakistan armed forces were aggressive because they thought that the T-e-T had links with the Taliban fighting in Afghanistan. Prime Minister Nawaz Sheriff is an Islamist leader. Opposition leader Imran Khan is also likewise. Sharif had condemned drone attacks when he attended the United Nations General Assembly meet. But he cannot agree to the T-e-T agenda to bring the whole of Pakistan under Sharia law and put an end to the democratic civilian government in Islamabad. Previous talks between the two sides had failed. The Taliban are dictating terms which Islamabad cannot accept. The US is against the T-e-T and in the present estrangement between India and the US, Sharif is unlikely to take a stand which may antagonize the US. The people of Pakistan are by and large pessimistic about the outcome of the next round of talks.
