TTP only want to get out of US war, not impose sharia by force: Imran Khan

[Developereo]

Some sort of a counter Taliban movement is needed on the national level. Not just a political movement but an armed one which could help our armed forces.

Very bad idea!

This is the first step towards a civil war and eventual widespread anarchy. I would oppose such a movement just as much as I would oppose the TTP.

Pakistanis already privatize everything: education, water, electricity, transportation, personal security. Now you are talking about privatizing law and order.

We have seen what happens in Karachi when organized, armed gangs have a go at each other.

Why even bother having a government?

It is not as simple as that. Imran Khan is only the harbinger of things to come when such extreme views that you call criminality are woven right into the very fabric of wider society. The trends are unmistakable.

If a significant majority of the population wanted sharia law, then the issue would need to be debated at the national level.

The criminality I am talking about is using terrorism and coercion to promote one's views.

 

[jaibi]

Yeah, remove the US by killing Pakistanis. Idiots who support these bastards.

 

[Pakistanisage]

The status of Peace negotiations with TTP is confusing as mixed messages are being received. Did they actually have an agreement or are the TTP stuck in asking for unattainable demands of Sharia and military free FATA.

Those two demands should never be met.

Most Pakistanis do not want oppressive laws against women under the guise of Sharia.

Fata should never be Military free for these Animals to breed their Anti-Pakistan Agenda.

 

[Jaanbaz]

Why even bother having a government?

If the Government doesn't bother with protecting its civilians what choice do people have? I know what dangers private militias can bring but do you think Pakistanis should continue to die while government is doing peace talks drama with their killers?

 

[batmannow]

Talks deadlocked; TTP rigidity blamed
ISMAIL KHAN

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Published 2014-03-28 06:39:51
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PESHAWAR: Despite a degree of optimism and feel-good impression generated by the militant-handpicked committee, insiders believe the first direct face-to-face interaction with militants has hit a stalemate and unless some quick decisions are taken, it will be difficult to prolong the ceasefire. The ceasefire is to expire on Monday.

According to an insider, the militants have set two conditions for continuation of the peace talks. One, the creation of a demilitarised peace zone in mountainous Shaktoi, South Waziristan, to allow freedom of movement and two, the release of non-combatants.

The insider said the five-member militants’ committee sought written guarantees before they could commit to an extension in the month-long ceasefire. “For nearly seven hours, we talked to them about the destruction wrought by over a decade of violence, the loss of lives and property and displacement of people.

“We said ‘let bygones be bygones, let’s bury the hatchet and make a new beginning’,” the insider said.

“Nothing seemed to appeal to them. I have come back really disappointed. The chances of success and continuation are not terribly bright. This is a non-starter,” he said.

“We couldn’t offer any written guarantees. It was not our mandate, so we came back without winning any commitment either for an extension of ceasefire or the release of non-combatants in their custody,” he said. “The militants have tied the continuation of the peace talks or extension of ceasefire on acceptance of their demands.”

He described the situation as a stalemate, adding it was now for the federal government to reply.

He said that militants had handed them over a list of 250 non-combatants. The list includes names of women, children and the elderly. The military has already denied they have women, children and the elderly in their custody. “We told them we will investigate the matter,” the insider said.

The militants’ committee also handed the committee representing the state a list of some seven hundred combatants for a possible release.

He said the militant leaders’ argument for a demilitarised peace zone was to ensure they could move around freely. “They said it took them two days to get to the venue of the talks at Bilandkhel, crossing streams and walking through mountains.”

The militants insisted the ceasefire was unilateral and accused the government of not respecting the terms of disengagement. “They brought out a list of incidents involving raids by security forces in Mohmand, Bajaur, Karachi and other places.

“They said that our people were being picked up and tortured. We responded by pointing out the execution of 23 militiamen. But the argument didn’t work,” the insider said.

RESCUE ACT: What could salvage the situation, the insider was asked. “The government will have to release some non-combatants as a confidence-building measure. It may consider ‘quietly releasing a few others too’.”

Asked if the militants showed any willingness to release Prof Ajmal Khan, the aged Vice Chancellor of Peshawar University, Shahbaz Taseer, son of the late governor of Punjab, and Ali Haider Gilani, son of the former prime minister, the insider said: “We brought up the matter of their release and asked if they would be willing to release them.

“We said they were also non-combatants and must be released as part of confidence-building measures. Their response was straight.

They could swap Ajmal Khan for three of their fighters arrested in connection with his abduction - a proposition the TTP had made a year ago.

Furthermore, they said, those in captivity belonged to political parties the militants are at war with and therefore, they were not non-combatants.”

Asked how soon the talks could resume, the insider said it depended on how soon the government replied to the demands. This could happen before the expiry of the ceasefire, possibly in Bakkakhel in Frontier Region (FR) Bannu, on the boundary with North Waziristan. The area could be converted into a peace zone, he suggested.

“The first meeting was more about confidence-building measures and we couldn’t make any progress there. What will happen when we talk about more substantive issues,” the insider wondered.

There were some tense moments. When one member of the committee, who represented the state, tried to explain in his opening remarks why the Taliban campaign in this country cannot be called a ‘Jihad’, Qari Shakeel, a key member of the Taliban committee, advised him not to lecture them about “Jihad”. Another member of the government committee had to intervene to cool down the atmosphere.

But amid the serious talk, there were some lighter moments as well, recalled the insider. What he found most amusing was the journey to and from the venue of the negotiations. A paramilitary unit escorted them and turned them over to the militants for onward journey to an unknown place and when the militants escorted them on their way back, they handed them over to the unit for onward journey. “It was simply a handing over, taking over ceremony. They even shook hands with each other. This brought a smile to my lips, ” the insider said.



Taliban demand release of 300-400 prisoners: Sami
DAWN.COM

Maulana Samiul Haq — File photo
Updated 2014-03-27 17:28:04
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NOWSHERA: Member of the Taliban nominated negotiating committee Maulana Samiul Haq said Thursday that the militant group has demanded the release of up to 400 prisoners, DawnNews reported.

Speaking to reporters in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Nowshera district, Sami said that women and children could not be held prisoners regardless of the peace talks.

He said that both the government and the Taliban had agreed on taking the mediation process to its logical conclusion and expressed the hope that the process of goodwill gestures would begin soon.

Elaborating on the peace talks, Mulana Sami said that he the exchange of demands should continue from both sides and that the Taliban's nominated committee would meet with the government team tomorrow for the holding of talks.

On Wednesday a four-member government committee comprising three civil servants and a former diplomat held their first meeting with members of the TTP's political council in North Waziristan tribal district.

Another mediator belonging to the Taliban-nominated committee, Professor Muhammad Ibrahim, who attended Wednesday's session said he was hopeful that the one-month ceasefire announced by the TTP would be extended.

“We are confident that the ceasefire will be extended,” he told AFP. “Our efforts will be to ensure that there is a permanent ceasefire.”

Ibrahim said the two sides were trying to build confidence in one another and would meet for more talks in “the next few days”.

 

[Developereo]

If the Government doesn't bother with protecting its civilians what choice do people have?

At some point, Pakistanis will need to assess their priorities on governance and think really hard about what kind of people they elect. Until that happens, Pakistanis will just make noises but, come election time, they will bring back the same old thieves, chanting "business friendly Sher" or "jiay Bilawal"

It is foolish to keep electing the same people and expect different results.

 

[batmannow]

Nothing for families of victims of terrorism in the talks
INTIKHAB AMIR

A Pakistani Christian mourns the death of a relative who was killed in the September 22 bomb blast at the All Saint's Church, after a service in Peshawar on December 22, 2013. — Photo by AFP
Updated 2014-03-28 11:58:02
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PESHAWAR: As the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and the federal government walk the treacherous path to discuss peaceful coexistence, the bereaved families of thousands of people fallen victims to terrorism are expected to remain neglected.

Political scientists and teachers of international relations, in their separate interviews with Dawn, opine the victims’ families could at best draw solace if peace is achieved, forgetting about more than 50,000 innocent lives lost to insanity.

“If peace is achieved in the longer run as a result of the ongoing peace deliberations, we will have to forget many bitter things for the national cause and move forward though it would be immensely difficult particularly for the families of terrorists’ victims,” said Dr Hussain Shaheed Soherwardi, a lecturer at University of Peshawar’s international relations department.

He said Jews went through the same situation when they unhappily saw their prime minister shaking hands with their terrorist, Yasir Arafat, searching for peace.

“It is always difficult to grant amnesty to the terrorists of the previous days, but this bitter pill has to be swallowed for durable peace,” he said.

Like Mr Soherwardi, Dr Hassan Askari Rizvi, an academician and a noted defence analyst, also feels the families of the victims of terrorism will be the ultimate losers as they lost their dear ones to militancy and, at the same time, they won’t get justice.

Usually, it has been seen (the world over) that in crisis situations, according to Dr Rizvi, the government keeps interacting with the affected families and remains in touch with the military throughout the crisis time.

“While the government is in touch with the military because of its compulsion, it has neglected the victims’ families,” he said.

Dr Rizvi sees a reason behind the official neglect.

“The federal government does not want to talk about them (families of the victims of terrorism) as it says it (their predicament) is history, so let’s move forward.”

The victims’ families do not appear to be on the priority list of either of the negotiating sides. There is no official word on what the government is thinking about the sacrifices rendered by thousands of civilian and military victims, who lost lives to the TTP brutalities.While the terrorists’ victims stand neglected, the two negotiating teams have been mulling over the exchange of non-combatant abductees held by the TTP and the state.

TTP negotiator Professor Mohammad Ibrahim, a senior Jamaat-i-Islami leader, has also indicated that the possible release of Ajmal Khan, vice chancellor of the Islamia College University, has figured out in the talks so far.

Similarly, from the TTP side demands have surfaced about the release of the non-combatant members of the families of TTP leaders allegedly held by the military.

However, there is a complete mum about the thousands of people, who have been sent to graves by the TTP suicide bombers and its agents of death and destruction.

“The only solace that the victims’ families could draw from this situation would rest in their ability to feel proud about their personal sacrifices,” said Dr Soherwardi.

“The public at large should remind them (families) that their losses have not been ignored and the whole citizenry stand by them in their difficult times.”

He, however, acknowledges it will be difficult to practice.

Dr AZ Hilali, chairman of the University of Peshawar’s political science department, doesn’t appear optimistic about the outcome of the talks.

“The State will remain at the mercy of guns forever even if the current process leads to establish peace,” he said.

Dr Rizvi also holds an identical opinion.

The likely extension in the ongoing ceasefire might will be acceptable to the government but the army “will never let the coming summer past” as TTP, he added, wanted to avoid armed confrontation this summer, waiting for the post-US drawdown from Afghanistan.

“The Army will not give them that much time; it would see this process a couple of more weeks but won’t let the coming summer pass,” said Dr Rizvi.

He said the nation was also divided over peace talks.

Even the religious scholars belonging to Shia and Barelvi schools of thoughts, too, had expressed reservations about the peace talks.

For Dr Hilali, TTP already has achieved more than it deserved from the negotiation process: it has managed to emerge as ‘innocent’.

“Certain religio-political parties conducted a vicious campaign to portray TTP as ignorant guys and those opposed to them were dubbed as warmongers,” he said.

Dr Hilali said no one was opposed to talks since dialogue was the only way to resolve contentious issues, but the way the government had pursued the process, it had isolated commoners, making them question the whole exercise.

“Isolating people makes part of the psychological warfare in which everything is ignored to achieve specific results,” he said.

In such a situation, the families of terrorism’s victims shouldn’t expect dispensation of justice as the perpetrators of terrorist activities can’t be brought to the courts for trial.

At some point, Pakistanis will need to assess their priorities on governance and think really hard about what kind of people they elect. Until that happens, Pakistanis will just make noises but, come election time, they will bring back the same old thieves, chanting "business friendly Sher" or "jiay Bilawal"

It is foolish to keep electing the same people and expect different results.

even electing" jeay balla" wasnt was the solution?
the croupt, & illegal formation of EC , was never challenged even by the parties, which stands for the dam "INNSAAF", cause they thought they will going be benefited from it?
problem not is just voting, but the whole stupid , croupt, faked, illegal electoral system which was just made to bring back the political elites in power?
common pakistanis , with less the 35% of education , what you are dreaming off, dear sir?

 

[Hyperion]

O Mr. Sometimes. Just sometimes. I wish. I could.

Mr its secular impotent pets of USA and NATO who seek attention not me and @Pakistani Exile Mr Taliban will keep rising if governments will not implement Shariah these kind of groups will keep rising and you can't stop it and

 

[Developereo]

even electing" jeay balla" wasnt was the solution?
the croupt, & illegal formation of EC , was never challenged even by the parties, which stands for the dam "INNSAAF", cause they thought they will going be benefited from it?
problem not is just voting, but the whole stupid , croupt, faked, illegal electoral system which was just made to bring back the political elites in power?
common pakistanis , with less the 35% of education , what you are dreaming off, dear sir?

You are right that the whole system is corrupt, but the solution still comes back to the people.
At some point, the ordinary people of Pakistan need to rise up and demand change.
Right now they don't even recognize the problem: they adore the corrupt parties. Bilwal is a hero. Nawaz is a hero.

 

[batmannow]

You are right that the whole system is corrupt, but the solution still comes back to the people.
At some point, the ordinary people of Pakistan need to rise up and demand change.
Right now they don't even recognize the problem: they adore the corrupt parties. Bilwal is a hero. Nawaz is a hero.

dear sir,
what you think , all these paper hero,s like imran , nawaz, billawals will let peoples get the opportunity, to rise up?
& take power back, into thier hands ?
no sir , just belive me it wont be happening ?
cause the best tool against common peoples by that, elite mafia is poverty, as long as poverty is there, peoples will keep selling thier votes, to get even if only one time bread?
sorry all those dreams of change , & fake slogans were part of fake process, there is no leadership to unite the peoples , or if thier was & is some one like TUQ, he will be washed out by the paid political mafia , by these croupt elite mafia.
there is only just one hope , PAKARMY stand up & create the atmosphere, where common men, should be pushed to reject this system of doom, with ultimate trust & belive on PAKARMY?

 

[Jzaib]

im treating you bit by bit, as i hve treated the other monsters before, you?
now you cant defend him, just told you, its getting worse, IK been fooled, after bieng called or told by , NOORA king?
thats why, he is supporting NOORA kings rule, TTp terrorism for further 5 more years?

are u drunk??? he dont need defence .. he dnt care about a patient talking BS about him on a site .. anyways maintaining my stance .. i dnt see u mentally fit to have an argue with u .. stop bothering me

 

[batmannow]

Analysis: Putting talks in context
IMTIAZ GUL

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Published 2014-03-27 07:22:05
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The government and the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan sat down on Wednesday to find a mutually agreed way to peace. This first, direct contact is nothing short of the first major step towards legitimising a group that is proscribed by both Pakistan and the US.

The government committee consists of former ambassador Rustam Shah Mohmand, Additional Chief Secretary Fata Arbab Arif, Secretary Ports and Shipping Habibullah Khattak and Additional Secretary to the prime minister Fawad Hasan Fawad. They are supported by a former ISI official, retired Major Mohammad Amir.

The TTP intermediaries include Maulana Samiul Haq, who heads his own faction of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, Jamaat-i-Islami’s Prof Ibrahim, and JUI-S spokesperson Maulana Yousuf Shah.

The Taliban shura is represented at the talks by Qari Shakeel, Maulvi Bashir, Azam Tariq and Maulvi Zakir. How much influence these four wield within the shura is not known.

The shura is headed by TTP chief Mullah Fazlullah, a rabid Salafist who wants a Sharia-based Islamic emirate. Sheikh Khalid Haqqani is TTP deputy chief and head of the group’s supreme shura. Number three in the hierarchy is Shakeel Ahmed Haqqani (alias Qari Shakeel) who heads the TTP’s political shura. A pan-Islamist, militant Al Qaeda ideology is what primarily bonds the three. Although ideologically close to the Haqqani Network, they do not appear to share the network’s spare-Pakistan policy.

Abdul Wali (alias Omar Khalid Khorasani) from Mohmand Agency is also a vocal opponent of the Pakistani state. Another important, albeit with far less political clout, member of the shura is Khan Said Mehsud (alias Khalid Khan Sajna), a commander of the TTP in South Waziristan, once known for his differences with the late TTP chief Hakeemullah Mehsud and who probably remains at odds with the TTP’s Mehsud proponents. He was reportedly averse to attacks on Pakistani interests.

Other shura members include Shehryar Mehsud (alias Shahbaz), commander, North Waziristan TTP, Shahidullah Shahid, Azam Tariq and Maulvi Zakir. Asmatullah Muawiya represents Punjab and Junood-i-Hafsa in the TTP shura, along with Adnan Rasheed, chief of Ansar Al Aseer (TTP’s unit tasked with freeing militant prisoners). Another shura ‘luminary’ is Qazi Hammad, touted as the TTP ‘chief justice’.

Keeping this conglomeration of militants in view, as well as the avowed mission of the TTP to bring Sharia to Pakistan, to have the army withdraw from Fata and to obtain the release of its prisoners, one wonders how united this shura is in its talks with the government. Khorasani and his spokesman not only owned up to several acts of terrorism in recent weeks (including the execution of 23 FC personnel) but also rejected the idea of talks.

Similarly, Ahrarul Hind — a shadowy group that has claimed responsibility for attacks after the two sides agreed to talks — is averse to negotiations. The TTP has already distanced itself from this group and Maulana Yousuf Shah claimed recently that the TTP now fully controlled various factions of the group, a statement that is difficult to absorb and makes us ask: who will guarantee the truce is upheld?

TTP negotiator Prof Ibrahim — a former senator of the central Jamaat-i-Islami, the Pakistani extension of the Muslim Brotherhood — always makes conditional commitments to peace on behalf of the Taliban, saying the government must also respect the ceasefire. He warns of “many more IDPs” in case an operation is undertaken in Fata, followed by renewed violence.

Following decades of cluelessly wandering about in Pakistan’s political wilderness and having failed to galvanise popular support, Islamists including the Jamaat-i-Islami probably see the current situation as a chance to impose their will on the state by echoing and endorsing the TTP mission.

But does the government understand this? And is it really pursuing talks as a means to bring about peace or biding time to eventually go for the kill and eliminate what it calls “irreconcilable TTP elements”?

A federal minister who was formerly an army general provided the answer to this question. “The Taliban even today are asking for some sort of a role in a future arrangement in the Fata area. Whatever I have learned in these eight or nine months that I have been a minister, I don’t find any place for them in that society, I just don’t find any place for them,” said Abdul Qadir Baloch, Minister for States and Frontier Regions, at an international seminar on Tuesday.

He said the government was trying to find ways to re-establish its authority in the border region, and that the ongoing peace process was part of those efforts. He practically ruled out any possibility of giving political concessions to the Taliban militants, condemning them as “murderers and killers”.

Baloch went on to suggest that even if a settlement were to be reached with the Taliban, the local tribal population was unlikely to reconcile with the militants. “Hundreds … of people have been killed by the Taliban. There is a tribal tradition — tribal people take revenge and the revenge killings are going to then start. So, even if a solution is found there cannot be space left for those elements of the Taliban who have been involved in the killing of tribal people, in displacements, in bringing about miseries to the tribal people,” he said.

A day later, even President Mamnoon Hussain hinted at the “other option” if talks failed. The nation must be ready to face the situation that would then arise, the president cautioned.

What are the talks about then?

are u drunk??? he dont need defence .. he dnt care about a patient talking BS about him on a site .. anyways maintaining my stance .. i dnt see u mentally fit to have an argue with u .. stop bothering me

yes sure thats what IK really has become, he really dont care the murders of 60,000 innocent pakistanis by the hand of TTp?
he wants to give them offices, he calls them innocent tribals , he wants them to control by hook or crook, the whole pakistani nation, just because he have been fooled by the mullhas that, by doing it he will become pakiatani PRIME MINSTER after next 4.5 years?
man i guss, he isnt getting royal wine these days?lolzz

 

[Cheetah786]

Laaton ke bhoot baaton se nahi maante .

 

[Informant]

**** you PTI fucks, i made a mistake voting for imRAWn Khan taliban.

Taliban Khan, ImRAWn Khan, 2number Khan, Jhoota Khan, Girgit Khan, MArwaega Khan.

 

[Bratva]

**** you PTI fucks, i made a mistake voting for imRAWn Khan taliban.

Then, Rustam Shah Mohmand, a member of the official committee, who is known for his straightforwardness, came in and took on the Taliban in a very harsh tone. Addressing them, he said the TTP’s violence was not Jihad. “If you want to wage Jihad, you should go to Palestine because there is nothing in Pakistan against which you are fighting.



“You have destroyed the peace and culture of the tribal areas and deprived even the women and children of their homes. The tribal area has never faced such a monumental tragedy that you have caused.”



Major Aamir asked him to communicate in Urdu, but Rustam Shah Mohmand replied that he would speak in Pashto as he feels comfortable by using his language.Mohmand’s hard-hitting remarks infuriated Qari Shakil, armed with lethal weapons, who told him that he was a fake Mohmand whereas “I am a genuine Mohmand, who can speak on the behalf of the tribe better than you.”



Seeing the tension, Major Aamir intervened and dilated on the responsibilities of the host as per the Pashtoon traditions. He told the TTP leaders that Rustam Shah had been defending the Taliban for the last several years on every forum, including TV talk shows by opposing the military operation. This cooled down the atmosphere.

Taliban refuse to release Gilani’s, Salmaan Taseer’s sons - thenews.com.pk

Remind us Again Rustam shah belongs to which party?

@Jazzbot @Leader @batmannow