Taliban will accept Pakistan Constitution: Taliban negotiating team

E-Paper | March 02, 2026

PESHAWAR: Member of the Taliban negotiating committee Professor Ibrahim said on Thursday that the Pakistan Army and the Taliban were the real parties to the peace talks, DawnNews reported.

Ibrahim during an address to a tribal jirga in the provincial capital said that the persisting conflict could not be solved by any army operation or militant attacks - it could only be solved through peaceful negotiations.

JUI-S Chief Maulana Samiul Haq also addressed the jirga, claiming it was easier to contact and communicate with "those sitting in caves" than those sitting in Islamabad. Both Ibrahim and Sami gave assurances that the Taliban would accept the constitution of Pakistan.

Sami said that there was a significant role played by the tribal people in the independence of Pakistan and they were also on the front line for defending Pakistan. He said that tribal people were deprived of their constitutional and legal rights. He said the all the tribal leaders were backing the peace process.

Samiul Haq added that he had advised the Taliban to act patiently in the matter of peace talks. He urged both the sides not to delay the matter of peace talks. He also appealed to both the parties to proceed with the peace talks.

Earlier a high-level meeting on national security attended by the premier Nawaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) had decided to pursue specified agenda in talks with TTP and to make the process result-oriented.

Karachi Wala

May 01, 2014 03:27pm

White lies! Professor Ibrahim and Maulana Samiul Haq, do not believe in Pakistan constitution themselves. Otherwise they would not have been advocating and talking on the behalf of the killers. An immediate operation is desperately needed against all terrorists starting with JI and JUI's both wings. Leaders from all these parties should be used as human shield when an operation against TTP and other extremists is launched.

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syed baqar ahsan

May 01, 2014 03:42pm

If they so true and real also not paid by any body why they don't look up and why hide their face.The answer is they belong to gangs and act only when order is received on satellite phone.The people out of us nominated to represent TTP in talks with govt team are almost the same type who were providing all sort of cover and assistance to these gangs.TTP was just a name to show connection or defame Talibans of Afghanistan otherwise this TTP was lethal arm of those who initially funded and raised Taliban to punish Pakistan for not controlling them and obey the order and surrender to occupying force.

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XAHR

May 01, 2014 04:06pm

This is interesting and present clear picture "it was easier to contact and communicate with "those sitting in caves".. why because everyone knows Sami as Father of Taliban, and why would they not listen to their father.. These uncontrolled children's whom are involved in killings of thousands of innocent people should be eliminated along with their supporters. This is amazing, they will say yes we accept Pakistan constitution and then they will become peaceful citizen the likes of Molanaz Aziz.. WOOW!

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Raja Farhat Abbas

May 01, 2014 04:14pm

@Karachi Wala Mr you are talking like an extremist yourself no person can tell what is in another persons heart and mind so lets hope they mean what they say and Pakistan can start its journey towards peace.

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Ragu

May 01, 2014 04:16pm

It is strange how the people react when violence directly affects their own self. The same Taliban trained and exported to Afghanisthan to rule over the Afghans in a brutal form, are hated when they attempt to do a similar thing within Pakistan a .tiny area. In addition, when US drones are used for near surgical strikes in retaliation against these killers there is a global outcry; yet Pakistan uses regular army fighters to kill them and it is a considered heroic battle; negotiating peace with them could be the only option Pakistan has.

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M. Siddique

May 01, 2014 04:23pm

Acceptance of Pakistani Constitution is a pre-quisite for any talks. Now TTP needs to undetstand that people of Pakistan have the right to peaceful living under the constittuion. And Constitution has a way of participation in the affairs of the country, so drop the guns and live like human beings.

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shamsher

May 01, 2014 04:25pm

If Army and Taliban were the real parties to peace talks then it means that they are the real parties to the conflict. I would like to know if this is the case then why Taliban are attacking civilians??

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wizarat

May 01, 2014 04:41pm

Pakistan Army and Air Force are making a difference; let them finish the job, please

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Ahmad

May 01, 2014 04:43pm

So killing innocent people, blowing up schools, terrorizing people and enforcing by brute force an alien interpretation of TTP's brand of Islam is "Accepting Pakistani Constitution"?

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May 01, 2014 04:58pm

@Ragu why don't you concentrate on your own saffron extremism which will now engulf whole of India

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Salim A

May 01, 2014 05:57pm

If they had spoken those words before killing 70,000 innocent Pakistanis, then I would have believed them about accepting the Constitution. It is like a bank robber accepting the rule of law after they made a heist. They need to account for their crimes. This is cancer that will keep coming back unless uprooted and destroyed once and for all.

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frank

May 01, 2014 06:09pm

Taliban should go back to their seminaries and study religion instead of talking to government, religion should be separated from politics.

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Man from UNCLE

May 01, 2014 06:21pm

This is so bogus I don't even wanna comment it.

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Man from UNCLE

May 01, 2014 06:22pm

Now the atrocities will be committed by the splinter groups.

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Shakeel

May 01, 2014 06:41pm

They were asked to do so by the GoP

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May 01, 2014 06:49pm

Taliban will accept Pakistan Constitution: What does it mean? They do not believe Pakistan Constitution. If ex-President Mushraf can trial on breaking Pakistan Constitution, Why negotiation with terrorist organization who does not believe our Pakistan Constitution. Jamat Islami and PTI are equally responsible. They make noise against ex-President Mushraf but support Taliban.

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Khalid

May 01, 2014 07:34pm

Everyone here is talking about the constitution. But what everyone is missing, is the fact that discrimination against your fellow citizens on basis of religion comes from this very constitution. And the barbarians a.k.a the taliban are the crop grown straight out of this constitution we pakistanis are reaping for the last decade. As long as we do not get rid of this utterly discriminatory constitution that legitimises murder/targetkilling/discrimination on religious basis, even the Americans could not resist the cancer and now planning to get out of here..

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anony

May 01, 2014 07:36pm

Talks are the only and BEST option. All postings here against talks are certainly not from this country.

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Jack Iyer

May 01, 2014 07:53pm

This is crazy.

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javed dost kalhoro

May 01, 2014 08:26pm

Too late now. We have lost 45000 lives. whether they accept or not, they need to be eliminated.

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javed dost kalhoro

May 01, 2014 08:29pm

@Raja Farhat Abbas don't you think its late now. you may ask those who have lost their dears. these terrorists won't go to their field, they are mercenaries and need to be dealt accordingly. hope you understand the feelings of fallen soldiers and innocent civilians.

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Zain

May 01, 2014 08:35pm

@Ahmad very good point. If they accepted the constitution, then they would have no purpose!

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Fiz

May 01, 2014 08:41pm

Do they consider us to be fools? Why should we believe them? You give them a finger, they'll ask for the whole arm.

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Ganga Din

May 01, 2014 08:48pm

@Ragu That's correct. Negotiating peace is the only option Pakistan has. Majority of Pakistanis are in favor of negotiations. What you see in these columns is nothing more than an insecure minority that is uncertain about its future and may have nowhere to go.

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Indian

May 01, 2014 09:06pm

If Taliban accepts Pakistan's constitution according to these professors the first step is they should ask them to surrender their weapons unconditionally.

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Shaikh Mohommd

May 01, 2014 09:26pm

Pakistan Government should concentrate on negotiating peace and ignore the agenda of those who seek bombings, wars, destruction and killing of civilians. Pakistan Army has suffered huge casualties. Those who support Army operations think lightly of lives of Pakistan Army personnel. IRA terrorism in UK ended through peace negotiation. The Government rightly is focusing on bringing peace to this country. Good luck to Nawaz Sharif and his Government

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Shamoon Ahmad

May 01, 2014 09:29pm

Maulana Samiul Haq should not associate TTP with the peaceful tribal people, after what they had done to tribal people in Swat. Tribal people need progress and prosperity, not murder and mayhem. They need schools to get education and make progress. To begin with, Sami ul Haq should rebuild all the school which his followers have destroyed, and than talk about his love for the tribal people.

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kirther

May 01, 2014 10:00pm

They just want to gain time to penetrate deeper into the society and cannot be trusted, they will not hesitate to destroy the remaining part of Pakistan. People must understand that this government does not have the courage to tackle them head on, and Taliban just want to gain time as it will benefit them strategically. People of Pakistan must understand that both the government and Talibans are not interested in what happens to Pakistani's, both are concentrating on their vested interest.

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Murtaza Askari

May 01, 2014 10:37pm

Should we trust the father or the child? TTP spokesperson had recently said that they did not believe in Pakistan constitution, now the fathers are saying the opposite....

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#BACHOD

May 02, 2014 12:31am

They accept the constitution? That's great!! Now let's try them in the courts, all of them, for the over 50,000+ murders they have committed. If our government can't do that, I don't see any point in talks.

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Mustafa

May 02, 2014 12:57am

If it is true that both Ibrahim and Sami gave assurances that the Taliban would accept the constitution of Pakistan, then the Taliban should be told by them that under the constitution of Pakistan it is unlawful to (1) Kill innocent men, women and children, (2) kill soldiers, rangers, police or anyone empowered by government to maintain law and order, (3) attack on government or private properties, (4) roam with unlicensed weapons and ammunitions, (5) perform acts to harm others. Will Taliban give assurance that they will refrain from the afore-mentioned illegal acts.

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Mustafa

May 02, 2014 01:15am

JUI-S Chief Maulana Samiul Haq Sami said that there was a significant role played by the tribal people in the independence of Pakistan and they were also on the front line for defending Pakistan. Is the Maulana claiming that the Taliban of today are true representatives of the tribal people of today or when Pakistan was created? This is not true. The tribal people have always been peace-loving and law-abiding and to say that the Taliban represent them means to paint all tribal people with the same brush that is calling them terrorists, militants, lawless and enemies of Pakistan. The Maulana owes an apology to all tribal people of Pakistan for his insulting remarks.

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independentthinker

May 02, 2014 03:46am

Doesn't the constitution of Pakistan give equal rights to all it's citizens - men and women, belonging to any sect of Islam or belonging to any other religion - and if that is the case, why then, are the Talibans going ahead with their killings of Shia's and other minorities? How long will we continue to be fooled by the Talibans and not do anything?

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Joe

May 02, 2014 04:52am

Talk about self-delusion!

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Minuit

May 02, 2014 05:59am

@fb Any kind of hate is extremism.. Have you not just ..expressed it. Ragu seems to be Hindu name, perhaps you feel, he is Indian. Ragu comments were normal .. fb- please ink before you ink. Peace and co existence is the fruit of harmony between us, among us by cooperation, coordination, consultation, and you become more tolerant and control your anger. Khuda Hafiz.

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mohsin

May 02, 2014 06:11am

@shamsher Because their narrative is that Pakistan Army uses heavy weaponary (artillery and air strikes) which kills innocent people in their areas (their famililes) , not that I am defending them but that is their side of the story. We do know of instances where US airstrikes on Madrassas killed 80 students and Mushy tried to cover up by stating that the Army was responsible. Even though he apologized there tribal philosophy and custom give them the right of an eye for an eye. Army should be involved in the negotiations and the ttp needs to lay down their arms for peace in the region.

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Amjad Wyne

May 02, 2014 06:18am

Accepting means nothing, they have to live by the constitution. They must be punished for the crimes they have committed against the entire nation - no mercy.

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Allapundai

May 02, 2014 06:36am

Really! Wow, What a revelation !. A while ago they said Shura is the constitution. Now they have turned around and changed their minds?

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amitha

May 03, 2014 08:41am

If Sri Lanka can eliminate LTTE (Tigers) from the Northern parts of their country; why cann't Pakistan, which is a bigger military power do the same and bring peace to the whole of nation.

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Abubakar

May 03, 2014 04:04pm

Negotiation is the only way out, You can fight for 10 more years, 20 more years, put the tanks, Air Force out there and carry operations in the valleys. I have no doubt in the capability of PAK army but I know this tribal BELT is fighter by birth. They too don't hesitate to give life. We'd better negotiate with full heart and mould them to fight against Anti Pakistan elements which is very possible.

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Raja Farhat Abbas

May 03, 2014 11:40pm

@javed dost kalhoro I fully understand my friend most of my khandaan is in the army serving and retired, i was born in Jhelum city and I love our army and Pakistan. Peace should be given a chance and if we can disarm these TTP fools without bloodshed the better but if these so called talks fail then by all means our armed forces should go all out and finish them of for good.

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