Peace Talks With Taliban?

[Jonny101]

Well, Chinese and Islamic Civilizations didn't go against each other on strategic level...I meant to say that they both respected each other's power in previous times.

Regarding China killing Muslims..thats not b/c they don't respect Muslims..it is just that they will supress ANY threat to their internal integration/stability. Chinese even murdered millions of Christians to suppress their rebellion...it doesn't mean they don't respect ' Christians' ...its just that Chinese are ultra nationalist and they are brutally brutal against any insurgency/rebellion rising within China against the mainland Chinese rulers...

Pretty accurate

Muslims will like a mult-polar world ...and we are going towards that..so mashallah its good......it serves us our interests well...

But with this type of logic bro, can I assume you are okay with Indians and Israelis suppressing the Muslims of Kashmir and Palistine in the name of internal integration/stability? because that is exactly what it sounds like as the Chinese today are occupying Muslim land of the Uighurs, allowing them to practice Islam only as approved by Beijing, and colonizing western China with the Han Chinese. Hindus and Jews combined have never killed millions of Muslims, while the Chinese have. Kashmiris and Palistinians are not half as oppressed as the Muslims under Chinese occupation yet Muslims consider Hindus and Jews as their mortal enemies and Chinese as their friends? that's strange. I guess the old saying is correct. Everyone does Salaam to the rising sun.

[Mehtab Singh]

Pakistan, Taliban begin peace talks

ISLAMBAD, Pakistan — The Pakistani government entered into formal talks with Taliban insurgents Thursday, exchanging possible ground rules for how best to try reach a negotiated peace agreement.

A four-member delegation appointed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met for several hours with three representatives of the Pakistani Taliban in what is considered a last-ditch attempt to avoid a major domestic conflict.

The Pakistani Taliban, formed when various militant groups coalesced in late 2007 and early 2008, has been waging a bloody insurgency aimed at imposing a harsh interpretation of Islamic law in overwhelmingly Muslim Pakistan. Under pressure domestically and abroad to curb the violence, Sharif has been pushing for months to get the Taliban to the bargaining table.

If an agreement is not reached soon, the normally cautious prime minister may be forced to order military action, perhaps as early as this spring or summer.

After the meeting, which was held at a government guest house in Islamabad, the two sides emerged and read a joint statement describing the gathering as “cordial.”

The government delegation, led by Pakistani journalist Irfan Siddiqui, told the Taliban delegation that it wants an immediate cease-fire and for the talks to remain within the framework of Pakistan’s constitution. The government also requested that the talks be limited to concerns only in those areas where the insurgency is strongest, most notably the resistive tribal areas near the country’s border with Afghanistan.

That request could be a precursor to future government concessions allowing greater autonomy for the Taliban in areas such as North and South Waziristan, while trying to avoid elevating the group’s influence in more populated areas.

For its part, the initial demands of the Taliban delegation, led by a prominent religious scholar, were largely procedural. It wanted clarification on whether the government’s negotiating team was empowered to make decisions. For the talks to succeed, the Taliban negotiators said, they also need access to Sharif, Pakistan’s army chief and the head of the country’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI).

Though additional talks are expected in the coming days, analysts remain deeply pessimistic that Sharif can reach a meaningful peace treaty with the Taliban.

The Taliban, which includes numerous factions and commanders, is increasingly splintered. Already, there were signs Wednesday of division even among members of the delegation.

Maulana Abdul Aziz, a Pakistani cleric, said he will not participate in the talks unless they include a robust discussion about imposing Sharia law in Pakistan. Sharia law refers to a strict interpretation of Islamic teachings, and would create a moral code that would be enforced by Islamic courts.

Taliban leaders have “given us a mandate to talk on their demands and they have repeated time and time again, through their messages in the media, that imposing Sharia law was one of the most important demands,” Aziz said.

But Maulana Yousuf Shah, another member of the Taliban delegation, said it was premature to speculate on what Taliban leaders’ final demands will be.

Regardless, some Pakistani analysts and attorneys question how any serious talks can proceed considering the Pakistan government’s outlawing of the Taliban in August 2008. Before reaching a peace deal, the government would have to legally recognize the Taliban for the agreement to pass constitutional muster, they say.

Farhatullah Babar, a Pakistan senator, said he’s also skeptical that the government could negotiate a pact in which it cedes authority to the Taliban in tribal areas in exchange for the group ending attacks in urban centers such as Lahore and Karachi.

"The problem is not only these troubled areas, but it is militancy which is going on in the whole country,” Babar said. “The militants could say Karachi is also the restive region or for that matter Peshawar, and then what would the government do?"

Craig reported from Kabul. Haq Nawaz Khan and Aimir Iqbal in Islamabad contributed to this report.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/pakistan-taliban-begin-peace-talks/2014/02/06/b825cb58-8f61-11e3-878e-d76656564a01_story.html