May 08, 2008	Thursday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 2, 1429

TANK, May 7: The government made contacts with key militant figures on Wednesday in a bid to resume talks for the restoration of peace in tribal region, a source privy to the development said on Wednesday.

The source, requesting not to be named, said that a senior official approached a key militant figure based in North Waziristan to seek resumption of talks which collapsed last month.

“A high-level official has made contacts today seeking resumption of peace talks and he was told that the government needed to demonstrate it sincerity”, the source said.

The talks collapsed on April 28 after the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, an umbrella organisation of militant groups, accused the government of backtracking on its commitments and buckling under international pressure. The two months of behind-the-scene efforts made earlier had led to a 15-point draft agreement, initially between the TTP chief Baitullah Mehsud and the government.

But a government official said that the talks collapsed when the militants insisted that the withdrawal of troops under the agreement should not be limited to the Mehsud areas of South Waziristan.

They demanded withdrawal from the entire tribal regions as well as the district of Swat and the semi-autonomous Frontier Region of Darra Adamkhel, the official said, adding that “this was not acceptable”.

The source said that a key militant leader with considerable sway over Baitullah Mehsud told the official that before any resumption of talks the government should pull out troops from the Mehsud part of South Waziristan and reopen roads leading to the region.

“These are two pre-conditions for resumption of talks. The government needs to demonstrate its sincerity by meeting these demands”, the source added.