Ceasefire talks go down the drain as Pakistani Taliban launch another attack near Peshawer

Ceasefire talks go down the drain as Pakistani Taliban launch another attack near Peshawer

Splits have emerged between rival factions in the Pakistan Taliban as several senior commanders declare ceasefire for talks with the government while another faction launches an attack near Peshawar. The past month has seen hopes of negotiations and an end
to years of bloodshed rose repeatedly only to be denied days later.

A spokesman for the al-Qaeda affiliated outfit claimed responsibility on Wednesday for an attack on a police station in Khyber Pakhtunkwa in which two officers were killed just hours after other figures had announced peace talks and a ceasefire in South
Waziristan, close to the site of the attack.

The past year has seen a decrease in fatalities blamed on the Pakistan Taliban, with about 800 deaths so far compared with 1360 in 2010. That decline has led some commentators to suggest the organisation is feeling the pinch of security operations and is
facing a funding crisis, raising the prospect of talks.

Rehman Malik, the country’s interior minister, confirmed that officials were in contact with the Taliban.

"Taliban usually send messages to us and I also sometimes conveyed them a message so that peace could be prevailed. But it is clear if the Taliban want to shake hand with us they would have to get rid of their arms," he told journalists.

He comments appeared to support a flurry of statements by senior commanders, close to Hakimullah Mehsud, head of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, announcing a ceasefire in South Waziristan this week.

"Even today we held talks with the government and in a good will gesture we are announcing a halt to our activities," a commander based in South Waziristan told The Daily Telegraph on Tuesday evening.

However, a spokesman for the movement denied any such move and pointed to the attack in Dera Ismail Khan, just before dawn, as evidence.

"It’s an indication that we aren’t a part of any kind of negotiation with the government," said Ehsanullah Ehsan.

The conflicting statements are a reminder that the TTP is an umbrella group of militias, with their own leaders and loyalties. Previous peace moves have been used as opportunities to regroup and rearm.

"TTP was at its peak in 2007-2008. But it has since been weakened and is divided," said Saifullah Khan Mehsud, an analyst at the FATA Research Centre, a think tank dedicated to the Afghan border areas where the Taliban is based.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=4483

Posted by Ahmer Gul Khan on Nov 23 2011. Filed under Latest News, Middle East, National, Opinion, Pakistan, Politics, Society. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry