Bad intent could derail Pakistan-Taliban talks
While it is unlikely that the peace talks between the Pakistani Government and the Taliban will produce any significant results, the negotiations must still be viewed with a sense of cautious optimism. Islamist militancy poses an existential threat to Pakistan, and any effort to mitigate this debilitating crisis should be welcomed. After a series of false starts, the talks that finally began on Thursday seemed to be going in a positive direction with the lead Government negotiator going so far as to say that, “It seemed as if we were not two different committees... and had the same goal”. This, however, is an overreach, as the Press release put out after the talks indicate. Touted as a joint statement, it is in fact the Government's list of pre-conditions. The Taliban committee, manned by three leaders who support the group but don't belong to its rank-and-file, is only an intermediary that has agreed to convey these demands to the Taliban leadership. Whether the latter will accept it is an entirely different matter. The Government has put forth two primary demands: First, the Taliban must accept the Constitution of Pakistan and second, they must agree to limit the scope of the deal (if any) to only those areas that are affected by violence. However, the militants do not recognise the Constitution or the Government of Pakistan; instead, they want the imposition of sharia'h law, not just in the restive tribal region along the Afghan-Pakistan border, which is their stronghold, but across the country. Since the Government does not define ‘violence-hit' areas, the Taliban will exploit this loophole to demand additional territory under their control. Essentially, the clause prepares the ground for Government concessions in return for the Taliban agreeing to spare the urban centres, which have routinely come under militant fire in recent years. This is problematic, as it will significantly strengthen the Taliban and it will only be a matter of time before the militants drop their side of the deal and resume terror attacks all over the country. There are other roadblocks as well — for example, the Government wants cessation of all hostilities during the talks and a clarification on the role of a separate peace committee set up by another Taliban group. Both will be tricky for the Taliban interlocutors given the fractured nature of the outfit (which also puts a question mark on the viability of any peace deal). Equally challenging for the Government are the demands made by the Taliban, which include direct access to the Army and ISI chiefs.
Most believe that the talks are sure to fail and the Government is using them to set the stage for military action. Keep in mind that, only days before Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced the talks, on January 27, his lawmakers voted in Parliament in favour of such an operation. Since a similar mission in 2009 had led to bad publicity, Mr Sharif possibly just wants to make sure that he's seen as doing the right thing in the way by giving peace efforts a chance.