The Taliban helped broker a “temporary ceasefire” between the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban, and the Pakistani government until May 30 following discussions in Kabul. Islamabad has released 30 TTP militants as part of the deal, which was announced yesterday.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said that “significant progress” was made on several other issues. He said that the Taliban wished both the government of Pakistan and the TTP to engage in the negotiations with “tolerance and flexibility.” Likewise, another spokesperson of the Taliban, Bilal Karimi, said that the group was doing “their best for the continuation and success of the negotiations.”
Talks were held in Kabul between the government of Pakistan and the Taliban Movement of Pakistan with the mediation of the Islamic Emirate. In addition to making significant progress on related issues during the talks, a temporary ceasefire was also agreed upon.1/2
— Zabihullah (..ذبـــــیح الله م ) (@Zabehulah_M33) May 18, 2022
Reports suggest that the former director-general of the Inter-Services Intelligence, General Faiz Hameed, who leads the Pakistani troops in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region, represented the Pakistani government. Another official told RFE/RL that a senior army official also attended the discussions; however, the foreign office has not confirmed this.
The official also revealed that Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani and intelligence chief Abdul Haq Qasir were representing the Taliban. The TTP’s delegation, meanwhile, was led by Qazi Muhammad Amir.
Sources quoted by the Express Tribune said that the Taliban had put forth several demands to mediate the ceasefire. It called for the release of its commanders, including those facing life sentences and death sentences. Furthermore, it demanded financial assistance for militants who had been repatriated from Afghanistan. It also urged Pakistani authorities to assure general amnesty for the families of Taliban fighters.
Faiz Hameed is currently in Afghanistan negotiating with TTP and no information about the talks has been released. Why is the Parliament being kept in dark about this development? The coalition government needs to take the nation into confidence and explain what’s going on
— Ailia Zehra (@AiliaZehra) May 17, 2022
The group further called for an end to Pakistan’s military operations and search operations in North and South Waziristan regions, which border Afghanistan.
Alongside the tripartite talks, on May 13 and 14, a 32-member group of the Mehsud tribe and a 19-member committee from the Malakand tribe spoke with the Taliban on behalf of the Pakistani government in order to push for a ceasefire.
In what appears to be a related development, Pakistani authorities have handed over two TTP militants, Muslim Khan and Mehmood Khan, to the Taliban. A Taliban official confirmed to RFE/RL that a total of 100 TTP members were released as a part of “confidence-building” between the two sides. However, no Pakistani official source has confirmed this news.
The issue was highlighted by Member of National Assembly Mohsin Dawar, who questioned why the matter was not brought up in the Parliament. He raised concern that such convicted terrorists were set free without informing the civilian government.
The only person in or adjacent to the government in Pakistan who seems to have asked some questions about the process, brought it up in the parliament is MNA Mohsin Dawar. https://t.co/63fjMcCd5Z
— Asfandyar Mir (@asfandyarmir) May 18, 2022
While the TTP is an independent outfit, it has often pledged its allegiance to the Taliban. Since 2007, it has orchestrated several brutal attacks in Pakistan. In fact, on May 14, the TPP conducted an attack on a military vehicle in North Waziristan that killed six people.
Similarly, in 2014, it orchestrated an attack wherein nine gunmen killed 148 civilians, including several children, at the Army Public School in Peshawar. Likewise, in October 2020, another attack killed eight students and injured 120 others after a timed explosive went off at a mosque in Dir Colony.
Over the years, Pakistan has often claimed that TTP militants were given sanctuary in Afghanistan, a claim that has been vehemently denied by the Taliban as well as the previous Western-backed government.
Failed talks in 2014 resulted in the Pakistani government cracking down on the TTP along the Afghan border, which is one of TTP’s strongholds. This resulted in the deaths of thousands of militants and forced several group members to flee to Afghanistan.
The last failed attempt to negotiate with the TTP was in November 2021, when the group declared a month-long ceasefire. While erstwhile Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry had said that the ceasefire was “extendable,” attacks by the group significantly increased after the deadline. It was reported that the failure of the talks was a result of the two sides’ disagreement over the release of TTP militants.
#Pakistan army's Lt-Gen Faiz Hameed has traveled to #Afghanistan for renewed talks with #TTP envoys, with the Taliban govt acting as mediator, militant and official sources in Kabul confirmed to VOA.
— Ayaz Gul (@AyazGul64) May 16, 2022
Since the beginning of 2021, TTP-led violence has resurged, with many security personnel killed.
The conflict between the Pakistani Taliban and the government stems from the 2700-kilometre Durand Line, an international boundary drawn to demarcate Afghanistan and Pakistan. Taliban militants in the region reject the demarcation, as they believe that the border separates and carves the land of the Pashtun community, millions of whom live in both countries.
Meanwhile, Pakistani authorities claim that its border with Afghanistan needs to be protected and guarded particularly due to a rise in cross-border militancy. Keeping this in mind, it is building a fence along the Durand Line, which authorities claim is 93% complete.
Since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan last August, tensions along the border with Pakistan have repeatedly flared up. Islamabad has repeatedly claimed that TTP militants have been launching attacks in the country from Afghan soil, where they have found sanctuary since the Taliban’s takeover.
Thread: There have been reports of talks between the TTP and Pakistan for a couple of weeks. The Taliban now confirm talks are underway *in Kabul* and that they are mediating. This is significant. https://t.co/7w0ijjK2pE
— Asfandyar Mir (@asfandyarmir) May 18, 2022
In fact, last month, the Pakistani military released a statement claiming that 100 members of its security forces died in regions bordering Afghanistan since January. It added, however, that 128 militants were neutralised during this same period.
Nevertheless, cooperation with the Taliban is critical for Pakistan’s security interests. According to General Scott Berrier, the Director of the American Defence Intelligence Agency, while Pakistan has not recognised the Taliban’s regime, it views the group as a “strategic asset” that will help in “securing its interests in Afghanistan.” He said that the Taliban’s reliance on Islamabad, on the other hand, has declined, as it no longer needs to use Pakistani soil as a “safe haven.”