DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan: The Pakistani Taleban and the army exchanged prisoners Wednesday as a confidence building measure ahead of possible peace talks, intelligence officials and a militant commander said.
The exchange included six militants and two paramilitary Frontier Corps soldiers, officials and the commander said. It occurred in the Shawal area of the South Waziristan tribal region. The militants were subsequently taken to neighboring North Waziristan, the country’s main Taleban sanctuary.
Militants fired in the air with joy when their colleagues were freed, the intelligence officials said.
The officials and the Taleban commander spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to journalists
The release occurred only days after Pakistan’s main political parties endorsed peace negotiations with the Taleban and their allies Monday as the best way to end a decade-long insurgency that has killed thousands of people.
The exchange was meant to build confidence between the government and the militants before formal peace talks, the Taleban commander said. Senior Taleban leaders are currently discussing whether to take the government up on its offer to hold negotiations, said the commander and one of his colleagues.
The Taleban said they were open to talks at the end of last year but withdrew that offer in May after the group’s deputy leader was killed in a US drone strike.
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif campaigned on a platform of holding peace talks and has maintained that line since he took office in June.
He scored a victory when his stance was endorsed by other parties on Monday — a decision that was generally welcomed by the Taleban.
But there are plenty of skeptics who doubt negotiations actually will bring lasting peace. The government has struck various peace deals with the Taleban in the past, but all have fallen apart. Critics say the agreements simply gave the militants time to regroup and continue their fight against the state.
“Not only is the path well worn, it is also a path that has on every previous occasion been attempted and led to failure, mutual recrimination and renewed bloodshed,” an editorial published Wednesday in The Express Tribune newspaper said.
The editorial also pointed out that it’s unclear with whom exactly the government would negotiate. Analysts say there are more than 100 militant groups operating in Pakistan’s tribal region along the Afghan border with varying levels of allegiance.
Pak Taleban, army exchange prisoners
