Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has formed a new government negotiating committee Wednesday to directly engage in peace talks with the Taliban.
Despite previous predictions, the four-member committee does not include a representative from the army, who nevertheless have backed the peace process.
The committee will be headed by Habibullah Khattak, secretary of ports and shipping; the prime minister's additional secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad; the additional chief secretary for tribal areas, Arbab Arif; and Pakistan's former ambassador to Afghanistan, Rustam Shah Mohmand.
A senior official at the prime minister's house told the Anadolu Agency, on condition of anonymity, that the names of the committee members were finalized during a meeting between Sharif and Imran Khan, whose Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party rules the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where much of the violence is concentrated.
"The task assigned to the previous committee is accomplished. They have brought the Taliban to the table. Now, this is the time to directly negotiate with them to know what do they want," the official said.
Mohmand was the only member who remained from the previous committee, which had liaised with a committee representing the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, a coalition of militant groups from across the country.
By Aamir Latif
englishnews@aa.com.tr
