ISLAMABAD: The peace talks committees constituted by the government and the Taliban will hold a preliminary meeting in Islamabad on Tuesday at 2pm to prepare a roadmap for peace talks.
Talking to media persons, the prime minister’s advisor on national affairs and the coordinator of the government-nominated peace committee Irfan Siddiqui said that representatives of the two sides will hold informal talks to move forward in a good spirit.
Siddiqui said that formal discussions will start after this preliminary meeting. He further said that we would assess the outcome of today’s meeting and more efforts would be made to carry forward the peace process.
A four member-committee formed by the government for talks with the Taliban includes Irfan Siddiqui‚ veteran journalist Rahimullah Yusufzai‚ former ambassador and expert on Afghanistan affairs Rustam Shah Mehmand and a former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) official Major (retd) Muhammad Amir, while the federal interior minister who remained a focal person for the dialogue process will assist the committee and he will personally monitor the whole process.
On the other hand, the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) nominated a five-member team for negotiations. It includes Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan, Jamiat Uleme e Islam – Sami (JUI-S) leader Maulana Samiul Haq, Lal Masjid cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz, Jamaat-i-Islami’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief Professor Muhammad Ibrahim and former MPA Mufti Kifayatullah of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam – Fazl (JUI-F).
However, the PTI chairman Imran Khan and the JUI-F’s Mufti Kifayatullah distanced themselves from being the part of dialogue process.
