Taliban demands, Pak’s rhetoric supplies

Several retaliatory decisions taken by Islamabad in the aftermath of the November 26 NATO air strike match with the demands put forth by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) recently as a pre-requisite for holding peace talks with the PPP government.

The Pakistan government has announced a review of the Pak-US ties, suspended the NATO supply lines through Khyber Pass and Chaman border crossings, and given a 15-day deadline to the US to vacate the Shamsi air base in Baluchistan. All three actions correspond closely with the TTP’s demands which were made public by its spokesman on November 19 before entering into peace negotiations with the Pakistan government.

Speculations on TTP-govt peace talks have been rife since the passing of a resolution at an all-party conference on October 18 in Islamabad, endorsing talks with the Taliban.

There are those in the government circles who haven’t ruled out the possibility of yet another peace deal between the military and the militants in the coming weeks, especially keeping in view the deteriorating ties between Washington and Islamabad. There are also reports that the Pakistani Taliban have actually been asked by the fugitive ameer of the Afghan Taliban Mullah Omar to strike a peace deal with the Pakistan government.

It’s a known fact that Pakistani Taliban have always used negotiations and agreements in the past to regroup.