'Pakistan Army real stakeholders in peace talks with Taliban'

Pakistan's armed forces should decide the future course of dialogue with the Taliban as they are the real stakeholders in the peace process, a former ISI officer said today.
Major (retd) Amir, who was the member of the first government panel to negotiate with the Taliban, said the army should be on the driving seat in the peace process because they are not only "affected but also capable".
He said after the formation of the new government committee, the previous one has been dissolved as it was an uphill task to keep it going due to continuous attention of the media on its members.

The major, who played a vital role in the initial dialogue process with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), told BBC Urdu in an interview: "No matter what you call it...I have informed the prime minister that the real say in the matter is that of the armed forces."
Asked why the ongoing peace efforts are any different from the previous attempts by the state, he replied: "Previously pacts were made with individuals whereas this time around the agreement will be reached with an outfit.
"Secondly, the ceasefire announcement is unprecedented... That's why I consider the current process as superior."

Speaking about opponents of the peace process, Amir said on one hand there are militant outfits like Ahrarul Hind and Ansarul Hind and on the other members of the Parliamentary committee were against the talks except Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan.

Peace talks between the government and the Taliban struck an impasse last month after a faction of the militant group killed 23 kidnapped Pakistani para-military soldiers.
The killings resulted in multiple targeted airstrikes by the military against militant hideouts in the tribal region of the northwest.
The Taliban then announced a one-month ceasefire which was reciprocated by the government which halted its airstrikes.
The government has formed a new four-member committee to hold talks with the Taliban as part of the second phase of dialogue with the banned group.