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Ambassador to Afghanistan Tariq Azizuddin
Taliban may release kidnapped envoy soon
By Hamid Mir Saturday, May 3, 2008
ISLAMABAD: The deadlock between the local Taliban and government will soon be over with the release of kidnapped ambassador to Afghanistan Tariq Azizuddin, according to sources.
The Taliban will release the kidnapped ambassador as a goodwill gesture and they will restart their negotiations with the government officials in a few days. The talks between the Taliban and the government officials were suspended a few days ago due to the continued presence of the Army in the tribal areas. Informed sources are not hopeful of any breakthrough in the coming round of talks due to the absence of leadership of the main political parties. It was learnt that Baitullah Mehsud wanted Nawaz Sharif to become a part of the negotiations due to his role in implementing the Bhurban Declaration.
PPP Co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari and PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif have given the mandate of negotiations to ANP President Asfandyar Wali but he is not in contact with the Taliban directly. Asfandyar tried to do something for the release of the kidnapped ambassador but he was unable to establish direct contacts with the Taliban for many weeks.
Initially, the Pakistani Taliban denied their involvement in the kidnapping of Ambassador Tariq Azizuddin. He was kidnapped from the Khyber Agency just a few days before the Feb 18 general elections. According to informed sources, he was kidnapped by a local group that has sympathies for the Taliban.
This group kept the ambassador in its custody for a few days and then handed him over to Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud in South Waziristan. They wanted Baitullah Mehsud to negotiate with the government for the release of their boys, who were arrested before the elections. In those days, the Taliban were not in contact with any government official and the talks for the release of Ambassador Tariq Azizuddin did not get off.
The Taliban waited for the formation of a new government for more than a month. When the new government was formed and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani expressed the desire to restore peace in the tribal areas through negotiations, the Taliban welcomed the move within hours.
Indirect talks between the Taliban and the government were started through mid-level intelligence officials in the first week of April. The Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud nominated some tribal elders from his side and these elders expressed the desire to meet the political leadership of the new government for talks but their direct contact was not established with the political leaders.
ANP President Asfandyar Wali Khan spoke to some Taliban leaders by telephone but Baitullah Mehsud was not satisfied due to the absence of any guarantor in the talks. Baitullah Mehsud was of the view that he negotiated with the intelligence officials twice in 2005 and 2006. He signed the peace agreements with them but these agreements never worked. He alleged that Pakistani forces had bombed tribal areas many times in violation of the peace agreements.
Government officials blamed the Taliban for providing sanctuaries to the al-Qaeda in their areas. Mistrust from both sides turned into a bloody revenge and the Taliban started suicide bombings against the Pakistani security forces in large cities. The Taliban stopped their suicide bombings in March after the formation of the new government.
The Taliban would urge direct involvement of the political leadership in the new round of talks because they have no trust in intelligence officials. The Taliban are still in contact with a brigadier and a colonel but they consider them “powerless people”. Reliable sources insisted that no talks with the Taliban would prove successful without the involvement of political leaders.
ANP President Asfandyar Wali promised Taliban leader Maulvi Omer that he will soon talk to them directly. After his assurance, the Taliban allowed Tariq Azizuddin to speak with his family on telephone. The Taliban are not only ready for talks but also ready for war with the Pakistani forces.
Source: http://thenews.jang.com.pk:80/top_story_detail.asp?Id=14466
