TTP’s pre-conditions for peace-talks

In relation to all the government-Taliban peace talk hustle a lot have been said from both sides of the opposing spectrums as what the conditions should be, how the talks should proceed, what is going to be offered and what not and so on. However, what came out today was a new piece of thread whereby the negotiators of Pakistani Taliban insurgents said that ‘there was no chance of peace in Pakistan until the government embraces Islamic Sharia law and US-led forces withdraw completely from neighbouring Afghanistan’. So this tough condition came in as a serious heart-breaker to all the high hoping analysts and politicians who were looking forward to the peace talks between the Pakistani government and the Pakistani Talibans which was a beam of hope that could have brought an end to the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) insurgency that has rocked the country since 2007. As reported in the media, Maulana Samiul Haq, the head of the TTP's three-man talks team, said, there could be “no peace” in the region while there were still US troops across the border. His comments were corroborated by his fellow TTP negotiator Maulana Abdul Aziz, who also said the TTP's long-held commitment to imposing sharia law across Pakistan was not open to debate. “Without sharia law, the Taliban won't accept (the talks) even one per cent,” he said. “If some factions accept it, then the others won't accept it.” “Their real agenda is sharia,” Aziz said, suggesting that all Pakistan's secular courts based on the common law system be abolished. “I don't think the government will accept this but they should, because war isn't the way forward.” On Afghanistan, Aziz said an endorsement of the security pact with Washington would scupper hopes for regional peace. “We think these (Afghanistan and Pakistan) are two brotherly countries. Peace in Pakistan means peace in Afghanistan and vice versa,” he said. If Afghanistan signs the agreement, he said, “war will continue, and the clash between Muslims and the US will continue.” “If the agreement goes ahead, then the losses they (US) have experienced before, they will experience once again,” he added.“If Americans remain in Afghanistan, there will be no peace in the region, it will be same, it will be unsafe,” said Samiul Haq. It would now be hard to bring about any fruitful results, if the whole system of governance has to be altered before making the TTP’s negotiators to come down to some common ground. The peace talks could become as useless as one could think, if there are to be strict pre-conditions imposed to what would be discussed and done and what not. Let’s see what the talks bring about.