Sir: As soon as the All Parties Conference (APC) was concluded, Pakistan set free six Taliban detainees from custody. Immediately after, a Taliban bomb attack killed two senior military officers and a soldier in Upper Dir district, near the Afghan border. An explosives device fixed on the road went off, demolishing their vehicle. The responsibility for this severe attack was claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). This is an organisation of various Islamist militant groups based in the northwestern FATA area.
The APC decided that peace talks with various groups of the Taliban leaders would be carried out and that Mullah Baradar, the co-founder of the Taliban movement, would also be released from the custody of Pakistani authorities later this month. This was a stepping-stone towards peace between Pakistan and Afghanistan. However, after this extreme attack by the Taliban, the peace talks now seem impossible. This is a conspiracy by the Taliban. In actuality they are striving to impose shariah and politico-religious power in Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, it can be hoped that the military operations will incapacitate the Taliban-led forces very soon.
IMRAN KHOSO
Dadu