Pak-Taliban peace talks in limbo following mediator's exit post air strike

Pakistani cleric Maulana Samiul Haq, who has close ties to the Taliban, has said he will not mediate the peace talks between the militants and the government after airstrikes killed 40 in North Waziristan tribal agency.

Haq, who is often referred to as the "Father of the Taliban" and heads the Darul Uloom Haqqania seminary, criticized the government for continued military operation and bombing in the tribal region, Dawn News reports.

Haq was given the task of initiating peace talks with the Pakistani Taliban in December 2013 by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after a US drone strike killed then-Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud disrupting the process.

He said he received positive signals after contacting the Taliban leadership for negotiations with the government, but lack of seriousness on behalf of the government forced him to quit the process.