Pak rejects TTP's talks offer following bitter experience in past: Report

Authorities in Pakistan have declined an offer from the outlawed TehreekeTaliban Pakistan TTP terror outfit to resume talks citing their previous negative experience with dialogue a media report said on TuesdayThe TTP through various individual contacts expressed its willingness to reengage in talks in recent days but the government rejected the offer and instead urged the militants to surrender The Express Tribune newspaper quoted sources as saying The government last year engaged in talks with the proscribed TTP group which has been fighting to impose the rule of Sharia across Pakistan at the insistence of the Afghan Taliban government in KabulA ceasefire was also announced as the two sides engaged in dialogue but the TTP unilaterally terminated the truce in November last year a few days before the appointment of Gen Asim Munir as the new army chief of PakistanThe TTP subsequently increased attacks on police security personnel and government installations with particular emphasis on the southern districts of KhyberPakhtunkhwa A senior government official said that during the previous rounds of talks Afghanistans acting interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani was the mediatorHowever he did not hold the role of guarantor in those discussions We need solid guarantees the senior official told the newspaper Negotiations will be meaningless without a solid guarantor So when this offer was made it was rejected outright he addedThe Pakistani authorities have made it explicitly clear to the Islamist militant group that individuals willing to surrender were welcome to do so the official addedThe Express Tribune reported on Monday that Pakistan had told the interim Afghan government that it could only consider talking to the TTP if the terrorist outfit surrendered and laid down armsThe current coalition government since assuming power has attributed the ongoing wave of terrorism in the country to the talks held between the thenruling Pakistan TehreekeInsaf PTI government and the TTPThe Pakistani government has been urging the Afghan Taliban to take action against the TTP As part of this effort the Kabul government has detained or deported several TTP leadersRecent visits by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar to Kabul were also linked to this issue During the Afghan foreign ministers visit to Pakistan the matter was raised as wellThe senior official emphasised that the Afghan Taliban would not employ force against the TTP and Pakistan had no intention of entering Afghanistan to dismantle TTP basesHowever despite Pakistans refusal to enter into peace talks with the militant group the Afghan Taliban were still keen on the process of dialogue to kickstartThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever