Pakistan govt, Taliban representatives to hold talks tomorrow

Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan today refused to be part of a Taliban-appointed committee which will hold talks with the Pakistan government for the first time tomorrow on peace negotiations.
The developments came on a day when Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif signalled his determination to end terrorism through dialogue. He said his only wish was for the talks with the Taliban to move forward successfully.
The committees nominated by the Taliban and the government will meet in Islamabad tomorrow, officials said. Taliban leaders will not participate in the meeting.
The meeting was scheduled after a telephone conversation between radical cleric Samiul Haq, a member of the panel nominated by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and Irfan Siddiqui, a senior journalist who is part of the government's committee.

The TTP had proposed it should be represented by a committee comprising Samiul Haq, known as the "father of the Taliban", Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan, Lal Masjid cleric Abdul Aziz, Jamaat-e-Islami leader Muhammad Ibrahim and Mufti Kifayatullah of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F.
However, the Tehrik-e-Insaf's top decision-making body declined the Taliban's proposal to include Imran Khan in its committee. It appreciated the trust reposed by the TTP in Khan and said talks must begin soon.

The party noted it already had a representative - former ambassador Rustam Shah Mohmand - in the government committee.
JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman announced his party would not be part of the peace process initiated by the government. He said Mufti Kifayatullah, named for the Taliban's committee, is bound to accept the party's decision.

Though the Taliban named Kifayatullah in good faith, the militants should have included their own leaders in the committee, he said.
The four-member committee appointed by the government comprises senior journalists Irfan Siddiqui and Rahimullah Yusufzai, former ISI official Major (retired) Muhammad Amir, former ambassador Rustam Shah Mohmand.