Pakistan Government and TTP: Chronology of Dialogues
TAHA AMIR
The Taliban’s retrieval to power in Afghanistan has pivoted the balance of power between the Pakistani government and the largest militant group in the country. According to the UN, the TTP also brags several thousand fighters in Afghanistan, with bastions on both sides of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
In contemporary times incursions on Pakistan security forces have ascended since the TTP ended the ceasefire. The government has held talks with the TTP before. The Kalusha operation in 2004 eventuated in the Shakai peace agreement between Nek Muhammad and the government. In 2004 first peace agreement took place in Shakai and the corps commander at the time was Safdar, who made a deal with Nek Muhammad, a leader of the Taliban. The agreement’s terms were that foreign militants would be registered with the Army. The local Taliban were already offering refuge to them, and they would not attack across the border; foreign militants should be reported. But a few months later, Nek Muhammad was killed in a drone attack. It was also the first-ever drone attack in the tribal areas.
In 2005, the Sararrogha peace deal was inscribed by Baitullah Mehsud. In this deal, the government had similar conditions. For instance, registration of foreign militants, the Taliban should not be giving sanctuary to any elements without the government’s knowledge. But this agreement also only prevailed a few months before events led to its end, and the battle initiated again.
In 2006 the Miranshah Accords were signed in North Waziristan. The central point of these agreements was to prevent cross-border attacks and document the extremists so they could not harbour attacks from here. The Pakistani Taliban resisted these efforts and did not want to exclude the other militants because they all belonged to Pashtoon tribes; they were united and their guests also. They could pressure them into not attacking the borders, but they could not surrender them.
By August 2007, there was no decline in violence, and the deals fell through. Much like his predecessor Baitullah Mehsud died in a drone strike in 2009. Moreover, after him, Qari Hussain, the architect of the suicide bombings, was also killed in a drone attack. Wali-ur-Rehman, Maulana Fazlullah, and Khalifa Umar Mansoor, the orchestrate behind the attacks on APS Peshawar and Bacha Khan University, were also killed later in a drone strike. Therefore drone attacks were ascertained to be a severe challenge to the extremists; their leaders could not go out.
In October 2007, Pakistan Army launched operation Rah-e-Haq in Swat valley against Mullah Fazlullah. In May 2008, Government and TTP marked a sixteen-point agreement. Furthermore, another military operation was conducted in the Khyber Agency, resulting in negotiations, and the government and TTP signed the Khyber agency pact in July 2008. Despite these efforts, frictions between the government and TTP remained unaddressed. On one occasion, the former commander of TTP, Maulana Fazlullah, said, “The provincial government is not serious about the peace agreement, they are not free, they can’t make decisions but they take orders from Washington and when they get those orders, they implement them”.
In February 2009, TTP and Government inscribed the Swat peace accord. By May 2009, militants overran the Mingora, Buner and Shangla Districts, causing the launch of operation Rah-e-Rast. In 2013, the then-TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan signalled a willingness to negotiate with the government. In a local interview, Ehsanullah Ehsan said,” Look, the decision to hold talks has been taken in the greater interest of Islam and our country. We want to see peace in the land, and for the people to live according to Islam and have their matters dealt with according to Islam. This is our agenda, and this is what we are working for. We have only offered to hold talks for the sake of peace and an Islamic system. This is why we are holding these talks and we remain committed to them. But no formal agreements occurred.
Both sides showed interest in dialogue, but talks were hindered when the TTP stated their terms, including the return of all their imprisoned persons. Two rounds of talks were held in Islamabad in February and in Waziristan in March 2014. All progress was marred as the TTP attacked Karachi Airport and killed 28 people. In response, the Pakistan Army launched operation Zarb-e-Azb in June 2014. The Former Prime minister of Pakistan, Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, addressing in National assembly at that time, exclaimed, “I said at the time in order to make these talks successful it is necessary that all terror activities are stopped because dialogue and terrorism do not go hand in hand”.
The APS attack in December 2014 marked new heights for violence as all talks halted until October 2021, when former PM Imran Khan said they were in negotiations with TTP. He elucidated, “I think some of the Pakistani Taliban group actually want to talk to our government for some reconciliation, and we are in talks with some of the groups”.
As the Afghan Taliban rose to power in August 2021, coordination problems became apparent. The Taliban evolving political views show that a significant barrier that the Taliban face is themselves.
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