STARTLING disclosures are being made about the mode of talks with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as a result of the decisions reached at the all-party conference (APC).

The government may have chosen silence simply because the prime minister has been less at home and more abroad after that assembly of political leaders gave him its backing to initiate a dialogue with the terrorists to stem the tide of terrorism battering the country.

When a few days after the APC cleared talks, Maj-Gen Sanaullah Niazi (GOC of the 17th Division) a lieutenant colonel and a non-commissioned officer were killed in a bomb attack (the TTP said the attack was carried out by their Swat chapter), the incident cast serious doubts over the prospects of dialogue.

The army chief issued a stern statement saying: “No one should have any misgivings that we would let terrorists coerce us into accepting their terms.” In the same statement, he assured the nation the “army has the ability and the will to take the fight to the terrorists”.

Coming from the head of a half-a-million strong institution supposed to be one of the finest fighting machines in the world (and we know how well-funded it is) these words were reassuring to say the least.

Gen Kayani’s remarks also needed to be viewed against the backdrop of his earlier statements where he upgraded the internal threat as the biggest faced by the country rather than external aggression.

While the attack on the senior army officer happened on one weekend, the following Sunday a church was targeted by reportedly two suicide bombers in Peshawar where nearly 100 Christians, including women and children, were killed and an even greater number injured.

This attack targeted one of the most deprived and vulnerable communities in the country and was so outrageous that most Pakistanis, regardless of their belief or background could only hang their heads in shame.

In the initial hours after the attack, the expectation was fuelled that finally the government would act — not necessarily by ordering a military assault on the terrorist safe haven of North Waziristan but in terms of stating categorically that unless the TTP agreed to a ceasefire there would be no talks.

However, by the evening of that bloody Sunday in Peshawar, first Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Imran Khan and by the next day Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan started advancing the argument that the TTP was not responsible for this attack, that it was a conspiracy by those opposed to talks.

Imran Khan said Sunday’s attack was the 211th in Peshawar (figures show that over 230 attacks have been carried out in Peshawar Division this year alone) over the past five to seven years. Therefore, his argument that Sunday’s incident was different from the other 210 was a bit difficult to accept.

Frankly, nothing the PTI or PML-N leadership say on terrorism is surprising anymore. Imran Khan has a well-meaning Alice in Wonderland-like view of what motivates the TTP and equally simplistic theories about how the takfiri TTP can be stopped.

As for the PML-N, it was clear from the time Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif made that famous conciliatory statement vis-à-vis the TTP that they were one in their opposition to Gen Musharraf (and had other common causes so why target Punjab) what the party’s stance would be.

All this is in the public domain and, as usual, the elected political leadership of the country has taken the brunt of the criticism. The leadership has been accused, with a degree of justification, of obfuscating the issue.

However, stung by opprobrium on live TV, one of Imran Khan’s top lieutenants let the cat out of the bag. Without naming anyone and attributing his remarks to a ‘highly placed’ source, Naeem ul Haq dropped what can only be described as a bombshell.

He said: “We have been told that there is no more than a 40pc chance of success of a military operation.” So, he said, talks presented the only viable option and his leader’s proposal for the opening of a TTP office should be seen in the same light.

While Naeem ul Haq refused to name his source, given his proximity to Imran Khan it wasn’t difficult to guess this revelation must have come from the PTI leader’s coveted exclusive briefing by the prime minister, the army chief and, in all probability, the ISI boss on the morning of the APC.

Is it then the case of the civilian, elected politicians once again taking flak for our hallowed men in khaki? If so, doesn’t the nation have the right to know if the fight against the terrorists is already lost? And even if it isn’t lost, that no decisive victory is likely? Hence we have to settle for scraps from the negotiating table?

This isn’t all. Pakistan’s top military strategist (for evidence please read up on the assault on Jalalabad post the Soviet pullout from Afghanistan in the late 1980s), retired Lt Gen Hamid Gul, who is said to be an inspiration for many intelligence officers and militant groups, has now disclosed that Mulla Omar’s help has also been sought in order to facilitate the dialogue.

According to Mr Gul, Sirajuddin Haqqani (one of the leading ‘good’ Taliban) is chairing a ‘shura’ of the TTP to persuade the various elements that make up the group to respond favourably to the talks offer. We can only hope the TTP hasn’t noticed the hollow where our spine once was and, sensing a walkover, doesn’t spurn the offer.

For now, the news is that the ‘good’ Taliban are talking to the ‘bad’ Taliban and the latter may just listen to them too. Does it take away the despair that overwhelms so many of us? If you ask me, despair at this capitulation may well be overcome with time. What we’ll always have to live with are the consequences.

The writer is a former editor of Dawn. abbas.nasir@hotmail.com