The NWFP government and the Swat Taliban resumed talks on Friday when Forests Minister Wajid Ali Khan secretly met Taliban leaders and assured them that their reservations would be addressed.Wajid Khan met several Taliban leaders, including Ali Bakht, Haji Muslim Khan, Maulana Amin, Mahmood Khan and Nisar Khan in the Deouli area of Swat and asked them to continue peace talks. According to sources, the Taliban complained that their colleagues were still imprisoned and the army was still occupying the area. The Taliban also said that their reservations should be addressed by June 23 or there could be consequences.
Khan requested the Taliban to continue negotiations so that all issues could be settled through dialogue and assured the Taliban that he would convey their reservations to the provincial government. The local Taliban had ended contact with the government on June 17 to protest at the governmentÂ’s delay in releasing 50 Taliban prisoners.
Peace deal: NWFP Senior Minister Bashir Bilour said the NWFP government would honour the peace agreement with the Taliban “in letter and spirit” to ensure stability and prosperity. Clause IV of the peace deal says prisoners would be released after “reviewing cases against them”. Under the deal, the NWFP government has conceded to a gradual withdrawal of all security forces from the Swat district.