Pakistani Taliban set several conditions for peace talks

Peace talks between the Pakistan government and Taliban have reached a new deadlock, as militants set several tough conditions for the ongoing dialog process.

On Sunday, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) political shura set more than a dozen conditions, raising doubts about prospects for further negotiations.

Taliban said if the government does not take these steps, the peace process cannot go forward.

The developments come after preliminary controversial peace talks between the Pakistani government and Taliban militants ended in Islamabad on Thursday.

The talks were aimed at ending years of fighting in the country’s troubled northwestern region.

Chief negotiators representing the TTP in peace talks with the Pakistani government have already expressed their reservations to negotiate under the existing state constitution. The TTP has also said there was no chance of peace in Pakistan unless Islamabad embraced the Wahhabi laws across the militancy-riddled country.

Premier Nawaz Sharif has been an advocate of peace talks with the pro-Taliban militants since his election campaign, which ended in his May victory.

However, several prominent Pakistani politicians are deeply skeptical about the ongoing controversial talks and see it as a sign of weakness on the part of the government.

The son of the assassinated former prime minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, has strongly condemned the ongoing dialogue process between the Islamabad government and Taliban.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has recently accused Premier Nawaz Sharif of “letting down the people” by not backing a military action against terrorist groups operating across the country.

Senior military officials have also repeatedly said militants cannot “coerce” Islamabad into accepting their terms in the government-initiated peace process.