{UAH} GETTING RID OF THE MIDDLE MAN

Getting rid of the middle-man

The Pakistani government has decided to hold direct talks with the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) after the negotiation committees met with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Thursday morning (ET). After the meeting, which was the first time Sharif sat down with the TTP intermediaries, the government announced a new strategy for peace talks that involves the government forming a new peace committee of government officials that will hold direct talks with the TTP. The exact composition of the committee has yet to be determined but Maulana Samiul Haq, the convener of the Taliban negotiation committee, told reporters that it was time that "all the major stakeholders" be involved in the process. Pakistani officials added that senior government officials, including Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar, and representatives from the army and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) would be part of the committee. The current peace committees will not be dissolved and will still be a part of the process in some way, according to the prime minister.

Viele GruBe

Robukui