Expert says Taliban not likely accept conditional talks offer

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Expert says Taliban not likely accept conditional talks offer


By Syed Moazzam Hashmi

ISLAMABAD, July 6 (Xinhua) -- The Pakistani government on Monday made a conditional talks offer to Taliban and other militant groups in the country following a high-level meeting held here aimed to solve the issue as how to stop the deadly terrorist attacks on civilians in the country.

Initiating talks with Pakistani Taliban again has caused some concerns among local experts. Arshi Saleem, a counter terrorism expert in Pakistan, said "like in the past an agreement with Taliban would bring more chaos."

"The offer made by the government will give the U.S. an opportunity to criticize Pakistan and put more pressure on it. This could also lead to more U.S. drone attacks and even a military operation by the American forces in Pakistan," said Arshi Saleem, who is a senior research analyst at the Institute of Regional Studies in Islamabad.

During the time of the former President Pervez Musharraf, the government initiated a peace deal with Taliban in 2004, but it ended up in having Taliban forces further strengthened. Despite the government signed some seven agreements with Taliban in the northwest tribal areas of the country, the Pakistani army today are still suffering dearly from fighting with the Taliban militants in the afore-said areas.

On February 15, 2009, after a bloody fight, the government signed a "Swat Agreement" with Maulana Sufi Muhammad, chief of the disbanded Tehrik Nifaz-i-Shariat-i-Muhammadi (TNSM) or the movement for the implementation of the order of Prophet Muhammad.

Expert says Taliban not likely accept conditional talks offer