Islamabad, Feb 6 (IANS) The Pakistan government’s four-member committee will meet Taliban negotiators for peace talks at a secret location, said Taliban team member Maulana Abdul Aziz Thursday.
Speaking to Dawn News, Aziz who is chief cleric of Lal Masjid, said the two committees negotiating a peace pact were scheduled to meet after 2 p.m. Thursday and would discuss preliminary parameters for the talks.
Another negotiator from the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan’s side, Mohammad Ibrahim of the Jamaat-i-Islami, said the Maulana Samiul Haq-led three-member committee was constantly in touch with the government representatives.
The members of the government and Taliban committees have been blaming each other for the delay in commencement of the dialogue.
The government committee includes Irfan Siddiqui, adviser to the prime minister and coordinator of the committee, Rustam Shah Mohmand, a former ambassador, veteran journalist Rahimullah Yousufzai and Amir Khan, a former ISI official.
The Taliban committee includes Maulana Samiul Haq of the Jamiat Ulema Islam-Samiul Haq group apart from Maulana Abdul Aziz and Mohammad Ibrahim.