Earlier last week, Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
had announced that his government would pursue peace talks with the Taliban despite a recent spate of attacks.
The premier had named a four-member committee comprising his Advisor on National Affairs Irfan Siddique, veteran journalist Rahimullah Yusufzai, former ambassador and expert on Afghanistan affairs Rustam Shah Mohmand and former ISI official Major (Retd) Amir Shah to facilitate the dialogue.
Whereas, banned myrmidon organization Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) on Saturday had nominated Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf
...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is
Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations....
(PTI) chief Imran Khan
... aka
Taliban Khan, who is the lightweight's lightweight...
, Maulana Samiul Haq
...the
Godfather of the Taliban,leader of his own faction of the JUI. Known as
Mullah Sandwichfor his habit of having two young boys at a time...
, former chief holy man of the Lal Masjid in Islamabad Maulana Abdul Aziz, Professor Mohammad Ibrahim of the Jamaat-e-Islami
...
The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka
The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an
independentbranch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores...
(JI), and Mufti Kifayatullah, a former politician of the Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam
...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spends more time running his madrassah. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability...
(JUI-F) from Mansehra
...
a city and an eponymous district in eastern Khyber-Pakthunwa, nestled snug up against Pak Kashmir, with Kohistan and Diamir to the north and Abbottabad to the south...to hold talks with government negotiators.
However,
Caliphornia hasn't yet slid into the ocean, no matter how hard it's tried...
PTI chief Imran Khan backed out of the Taliban committee after his party declined a request for him to represent them in peace talks with the government today.
Moreover, Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) chief
Maulana Fazlur RehmanDeobandi holy man, known as
Mullah Dieselduring the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty ...
also announced that he would not participate in the dialogue process.
Speaking to DawnNews, the government's negotiator Irfan Siddique said the meeting between the two committees is scheduled to be held tomorrow at 2 pm.
Three Taliban-nominated committee members meet
Earlier today, the five-member committee, nominated by the Pak Taliban to facilitate the dialogue process with the government, had held its first meeting in the federal capital today.
The meeting, chaired by Maulana Samiul Haq, was attended by Professor Ibrahim and Maulana Abdul Aziz.
Mufti Kifayatullah could not partake in the meeting whereas Khan was chairing a meeting of his party's core committee.
Sources said that while addressing the meeting, Samiul Haq had said the four-member committee nominated by the federal government to further the dialogue process with the Taliban had not contacted them, adding that the negotiating team would soon finalise its strategy.
He expressed hope that the government would find a better solution to problems while holding dialogue with the Taliban.
Meanwhile,
...back at the chili cook-off, Chuck and Manuel's rivalry was entering a new and more dangerous phase...
Professor Ibrahim had said he was very optimistic about negotiations with the Taliban while underscoring that problems could only be resolved through dialogue.
He moreover said that the Taliban would first demand the implementation of Shariah law in Pakistain and said if the government really wanted to impose it in the country in a democratic manner, it could have easily been done in the past 65 years.