— Party wants all decisions to be taken by the Parliament
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) top brass Saturday deplored federal government’s dialogue with the banned terrorist outfit, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan (TTA), bypassing of the parliament and called for making Parliament on board over the issue.
A high level meeting of PPP was held in Zardari House Islamabad to discuss in depth the issue of terrorism particularly in the light of recent developments in Afghanistan with the TTA & TTP.
The hybrid meeting presided over by former President Asif Ali Zardari and party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was attended by senior party leadership.
The meeting was attended among others by two former prime ministers Yousuf Raza Gillani, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Faryal Talpur, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, Syed Khursheed Shah, Sherry Rehman, Nayyer Bukhari, Najmuddin Khan, President PPP KP Chapter, Faisal Karim Kundi, Humayun Khan, Ch Yasin, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Chaudhry Manzoor, Nadeem Afzal Chan, Akhunzada Chattan, Rukhsana Bangash, Nisar Khuhro and Farhatullah Babar.
A statement issued by Secretary General PPP Farhatullah Babar said that the meeting reiterated the Party position that all decisions must be taken by the parliament and thus the parliament must be taken on board.
The party also decided to reach out to allied parties to create consensus on the way forward.
“PPP believes that all decisions must be taken by parliament. Will be reaching out to allied parties to create consensus on the way forward,” FM Bilawal said in a tweet.
On June 3, Pakistan welcomed the ceasefire announced by the banned TTP, as the federal government for the first time publicly acknowledged it was negotiating a peace deal with the outlawed outfit.
The confirmation from the government came a day after the TTP extended the ceasefire for an indefinite period after the Pakistani tribal jirga visited Kabul and held talks with the TTP leadership.
Both sides have been holding talks for the last several weeks but the Pakistani side until now remained tight-lipped.
Questions were asked about whether the current government was on board with talks with the TTP as military officials held a series of meetings with the militant outfit in recent days in the Afghan capital.
Federal Information Minister Maryam Aurangzeb, in a statement, said the talks with the TTP were taking place at the government level.
“Talks with the TTP began in 2021 and these negotiations have been taking place at the government level,” the minister said, confirming the peace talks with the banned group.
The minister also confirmed that the Afghan Taliban were acting as mediators between the two sides. She said that civil and military representatives were part of the Pakistani side holding talks with TTP.
She said the government welcomed the ceasefire announced by the TTP. But the PPP’s latest statement suggested that all the coalition partners were not on board.
In return for a ceasefire, Pakistan reportedly released certain TTP prisoners and even pardoned some who were convicted in terror cases. There was, however, no official confirmation.
The TTP has put forward several demands including reversal of FATA merger, monetary compensation and allowing them to keep their arms. The Pakistani side, however, wants them to lay down their arms and is also reluctant to restore the status of FATA.
There were questions asked about whether the Pakistani team holding talks with the TTP had the mandate to discuss matters that involve constitutional amendments.
The information minister clarified that the negotiation committee had the mandate. “Whatever decision the team will arrive at would be approved by the government and Parliament.”
The peace process resumed last month after Pakistan sent a clear message to the Afghan Taliban government that it would no more tolerate cross-border terrorist attacks.
Over 120 Pakistani security forces were martyred this year in terrorist attacks mostly carried out by the TTP from across the border.
In April, frequent cross-border terrorist attacks compelled Pakistan to launch retaliatory air strikes targeting the TTP hideouts across the border. It also warned the Afghan Taliban to take stern action against the TTP, which was operating with impunity from the Afghan soil.
The Afghan Taliban, feeling pressure from Pakistan, once again persuaded the TTP to engage with Pakistan. A few weeks ago, a Pakistani delegation led by Peshawar Corps Commander Lt General Faiz Hameed visited Kabul and held talks with the TTP. The talks led to renewal of truce by TTP for May 30 which has now been extended indefinitely.
