... headquarters of al-Qaeda in Pakistain and likely location of Ayman al-Zawahiri. The Haqqani network has established a
ministatein centered on the town with courts, tax offices and lots of madrassas...
, North
Wazoo, on Saturday for consultation with the Taliban Shura.Official sources said that Prof Mohammad Ibrahim, Maulana Yousaf Shah and Maulana Haseeb arrived in Miranshah in a military helicopter.
They were briefed at the office of the political agent. Later they were taken to an unspecified place for talks with the Taliban high command.
Maulana Yousaf Shah, coordinator of the Taliban negotiating team, is representing Maulana Samiul Haq
...the
Godfather of the Taliban,leader of his own faction of the JUI. Known as
Mullah Sandwichfor his habit of having two young boys at a time...
, but details about Maulana Haseeb were not available.
Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
Bureau adds: The TTP chapter of
Mohmand Agency... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar...
alleged that bodies of two of its activists had been found on the outskirts of Peshawar on Saturday.
A front man said his organization was sceptical of the success of negotiations because it now had doubts about the government's sincerity.
Ehsanullah Ehsan, front man for `Commander' Umar Khalid Khurasani, said Mohammad Zaib and Asad were kidnapped by security forces on Jan 20 and Jan 22 from phase 6, Hayatabad Township. Their bodies were found in Matani and University Town areas.
He said it was unfortunate the killings took place at a time when talks between the TTP and the government had started. "The government wants to cheat us once again as it had done in the past."
He alleged that a former front man for the Taliban, Haji Mohammedan Khan, was tossed in the slammer
Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out!
when talks were in progress while TTP chief Hakeemullah Mehsud was killed in a dronezap
.He alleged six TTP activists were killed in a fake encounter with police in Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
last month after start of the first round of talks.
"Now we are forced to rethink if it is possible for us to participate in such talks. Are the government and its forces not going to kill us under the pretext of peace talks and whether these incidents will not affect the future of talks."