PESHAWAR: Professor Ibrahim Khan of the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) on Monday said no communication had been made by the negotiators representing the government towards those representing the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), adding that the TTP side was awaiting contact, DawnNews reported.
Khan, who is a member of the committee representing the TTP in the peace talks, said a deadlock currently existed on the issue.
He said the TTP committee was waiting for government negotiators to establish contact which the latter hadn't done so far.
Khan said the matter could not move forward without the two sides sitting together, adding that after reluctance from the government's side, talks were now being carried on and analysed via television programs.
The JI member further said that a military operation was not the answer to the issue, adding that army action would lead to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.
Khan’s statement came a day after military planes pounded bases and hideouts of militants in Tirah valley of Khyber Agency and, according to official sources, killed at least 30 fighters of banned organisations.
Meanwhile, Maulana Yousuf Shah, who acts as contact person for the TTP, said the Taliban side was engaged in consultations over the current situation, adding that while the government committee had not contacted Taliban negotiators, he was calling a meeting of the TTP committee to review the scenario.
Talks between the two sides suffered a serious blow when the Mohmand Agency Taliban claiming killed 23 Frontier Corps soldiers they had kidnapped from Shongari checkpost in the tribal region in 2010.
TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid had later said the Taliban in Mohmand might have avenged the killing of their colleagues, adding that custodial killings could further complicate the dialogue process.