[Dawn] Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
Governor Engineer Shaukatullah has said the government would hold dialogue with the Taliban despite recent acts of terrorism in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, especially in the capital city of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
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"The federal government had declared the policy to initiate the process of dialogue with Taliban groups operating in Fata after the all parties conference gave it the mandate for it but the acts of terrorism carried out by either a third force or faceless myrmidons themselves in the days ahead caused a serious setback to the process. Such acts have created misunderstandings between the government and Taliban and could also damage the mutual confidence," he told Dawn.
The governor, however, said that despite the fresh acts of terrorism, nobody from the government had publicly declared suspension of the proposed peace dialogue.
"Efforts will be made to proceed with the mandate, which APC had unanimously given to the federal government," he said.
When asked about the Taliban's conditions for peace dialogue, the governor said whenever negotiations began between two opponents, each side set conditions but things improved as the dialogue process progressed.
"It is not unusual in tribal areas that conflicting parties hold negotiations while they are entrenched in their bunkers and even the fighting, too, continues," he said.
Mr Shaukatullah said it was the job of interlocutors to first ease tensions and ascertain the viewpoints of both sides and then try to narrow down their differences, leaving aside the conflicting and contentious issues," he said.
When asked whether the government has authorised a tribal jirga to hold talks with Taliban on its behalf, he declined to acknowledge it but insisted the process would bear fruit in near future.
"We can not say that the dialogue would not be held or we are not willing to do so or no such process is going on but sometimes, somewhere the disclosure of some details about the dialogue process may have negative implications," he said.
The governor said he firmly believed that the country could rid of militancy if both the parties showed flexibility in their respective stands.
"Once the dialogue process begins, there is a greater likelihood that misunderstandings between the two sides will end," he said.
Mr Shaukatullah said he was confident that if given a chance, interlocutors would convince the Taliban to accept the government's conditions for peace.