Pakistani Government agrees on ‘launch pad’ for talks
Baku, March 29 (AZERTAC). The Pakistani government and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Saturday agreed to hold direct talks within a few days at a mutually agreed place, but both would not divulge the location to the media.
The decision to this effect was announced after the four-member government committee headed by federal secretary Habibullah Khattak on Saturday held a detailed meeting with the Taliban coordination committee led by Maulana Samiul Haq, head of his own faction of the JUI.
“The two sides (TTP and the government) have agreed upon a venue for the next phase of negotiations, which will take place soon,” Samiul Haq informed. “The process of directly contacting the Taliban will start in two to three days; both sides have agreed on the venue,” he told reporters after a two-hour meeting held at the Punjab House Islamabad, which was also attended by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan.
The Taliban coordination committee was represented by its chief Maulana Samiul Haq, Professor Ibrahim and Maulana Yousuf Shah, while Habibullah Khattak led the government team, which included Fawad Hasan Fawad, Rustam Shah Mohmand and Arbab Arif.
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