INTERIOR Minister Rana Sanaullah on Wednesday said a meeting on national security, attended by civil and military leadership, had decided that the talks with the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) will be held only under the framework of the Constitution.
He made the statement at a press conference after the meeting in Islamabad, and said it was also decided that an in-camera briefing will be held on the matter and later the Prime Minister will brief Parliament.
The Government deserves appreciation for holding a meeting on national security to discuss the issue of ongoing talks with TTP as well as its decision to brief Parliament on different aspects of the move.
This assumed urgency as the outlawed TTP had on the 2nd of June announced an “indefinite ceasefire” in view of the “substantial progress” made in talks with the Pakistani Government during a round of meetings in Kabul.
There is no doubt that such talks are always held behind closed doors in view or sensitivity of the issues involved and the possibility of external influence on the process but in a parliamentary democracy Parliament is the focus point and, therefore, cannot and should not be kept in the dark on such an important issue.
After all, for any accord to sustain, there must be national consensus on relevant issues, otherwise the understanding could prove short-lived in the absence of political ownership.
We have before us the example of National Action Plan against Terrorism, which was a product of parliamentary discussion and this ownership contributed a lot towards successful implementation of the plan by the defence forces and other agencies.
The firm statement of the Government that talks were underway with the TTP, facilitated by the Government of Afghanistan, in which a Government-led committee comprising civil and military representatives was negotiating within the framework of the Constitution, is reassuring and would help satisfy those within the coalition Government who are opposed to the talks with terrorists and killers of innocent people.
