Men grieve the death of relatives at a hospital in Islamabad, after a bomb tore through a bustling market, killing at least 21 people. -AFP Photo

Could dialogue have saved the lives of the 21 people killed in the Islamabad blast today?

Apparently the government thought so – or perhaps still does. But then again, one may ask why should peace talks with the Taliban come under fire when the Tehreek-e-Taliban themselves have condemned today’s attack claiming, "such attacks targeting innocent people are forbidden in Sharia and they are un-Islamic."

This statement by the TTP, if true, brings us back to the mysterious hidden hands then – the entity supposedly responsible for the recent attacks.

These hidden hands do not want peace. They never have. Apparently, it is always the hidden hands, which launch such attacks when the government and the Taliban initiate dialogue. It would seem thus, the bigger and perhaps scarier enemy then, are these hidden hands – the hidden hands with no name, no face but a clear agenda – derail peace talks and keep terror alive.

The common man is reading in the newspapers and watching on television the progress, or lack of, on the peace talks. He doesn’t care when the next round of talks will be and what terms proposed by either side are – all he cares about is security, and if these talks aren’t providing that, what is the point of going ahead with them?

The government is interested in reducing the level of violence in the short term and the TTP seems to be the obvious enemy at hand and hence, the bending over backwards to accommodate their terms continues. However, not to be the eternal pessimist and critic here, but it doesn’t take a lot of deep analysis to see this effort going nowhere.

We are perhaps talking to the wrong people. We are releasing their prisoners and pondering over their intolerant ideology while the real enemy is bombing innocent people at the sabzi mandi.

Any effort to create peace will go wasted if there is a more powerful enemy out there who seems to have a free reign, as its identity remains concealed. If anything, perhaps the first point on the government and TTP’s agenda should be to identify and take action against the group committing these crimes. Not only would it bring about some security for the common man, but it may also clarify TTP’s position.

Once the hidden hands are dealt with, dialogue between the government and TTP can continue on balanced, fair terms as opposed to having the latter dictate them. There is absolutely no point in investing energy and effort on a process that is futile to begin with.

Too many times have we seen Rehman Malik and Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan stare at the cameras wearing a mask of sincerity, telling us how the “hidden hands” and “third element” are coming in the way of peace and progress. Too many times failure has stared us in the face and taken far too many innocent lives.

All effort should now be channeled towards unveiling and capturing this hidden enemy instead and if the government or military lacks the capability to do so, it should clearly be stated so that there remains no doubt in their incompetency.

Currently, it seems that peace talks and ceasefires with the TTP may be able to save the lives of our government leaders and military men but they won’t be able to save the lives of the common man out on the street.

Who does the government plan to hold talks with about those lives?