ISLAMABAD: Undeterred by Taliban announcement of not extending the ‘ceasefire’, the country’s civil and military leadership decided on Thursday to continue seeking opportunities for peace with the militants.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on National Security, which as per official statements appeared to have been sometime back secretly renamed as National Security Committee.
The session, presided over by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, was attended by ministers for defence, finance, interior and information, the adviser on national security & foreign affairs, the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, the Chief of Army Staff, the Chief of Naval Staff and chiefs of Intelligence Bureau and Inter-Services Intelligence.
The meeting, originally convened to dispel a perception of a civil-military discord, was dominated by discussions on a decision of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan of not extending the 40-day ceasefire, which had expired on April 10.
Following intense discussions, it was decided to give peace another chance.
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan was assigned to contact Maulana Samiul Haq and other members of the Taliban negotiating committee for exploring the possibility of a further extension in the ceasefire.
Mr Khan is set to meet the Taliban committee on Saturday to decide the future strategy.
Prime Minister Sharif asked the interior minister to address the Taliban grievances that could have caused them to abandon ceasefire.
Insiders claim that the military side’s position on the Taliban issue was that non-extension of ceasefire had put the militants’ sincerity about peace in question.
It was, therefore, agreed to offer continuation of peace efforts in somewhat firm way so that it is not taken as a sign of weakness.
“It was resolved that all policy options will be explored and all available resources will be utilised to ensure peace and security,” the statement said.
Chaudhry Nisar too, in a post-meeting statement, tried to sound tough: “I don’t think meaningful discussions can take place if the ceasefire is ended.”
The official statement on the meeting said: “The committee endorsed the vision to put Pakistan on the crossroads of opportunity rather than conflict to spur growth for prosperity of the people.”
CIVIL-MILITARY TIFF: There was hardly a direct mention of the recent civil-military tensions, but Mr Sharif indirectly referred to the matter by asking all state institutions to resort to available dispute resolution mechanisms, instead of washing dirty linen in public.
“The National Security Committee is an apex forum where every state institution gets an opportunity to provide inputs so that all national security-related decisions are taken through collective thinking,” the prime minister was quoted as having said.
