Taleban sets tough conditions for talks

MIRANSHAH: Taleban insurgents have set tough terms for peace talks with Pakistan’s government including the release of all imprisoned fighters and the withdrawal of troops from tribal areas, a militant source said yesterday. The Taleban outlined their demands to a team of Islamist clerics who are holding talks with the government on the militants’ behalf about ending a sevenyear insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives. Negotiating teams held a first meeting on Thursday, but the dozen conditions now laid down by the Tehreek-e-Taleban Pakistan (TTP) will raise further doubts about the chances of success.

A TTP commander said the prisoner and troops issues were a “test case” for the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to prove its sincerity. “This is the first round of talks. The committee members will now meet the government committee and will forward our demands, they will meet us again with a reply,” the commander said. The team representing the TTP met the insurgents’ 10-member council in the mountainous tribal district of North Waziristan over the weekend.

The chief negotiator representing the Taleban, Maulana Samiul-Haq, told reporters in the northwestern town of Akora Khattak the meeting had been “positive”. The next round of talks with government negotiators would take place within two days, he said. Haq, who did not travel personally but sent a delegate in his place, added that the TTP meeting had taken place at a secret location some four hours from Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan. —AFP