ISLAMABAD: Scepticism over each other’s mandate was the common concern which the government and Taliban negotiators expressed during their first formal meeting here on Thursday.

The two sides met at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House, spending about three hours under heavy clouds with mercury below 10°C.

Although both sides expressed satisfaction over the outcome of the meeting, the demands put forward by them have created further doubts about any progress.

Irfan Siddiqui, coordinator of the government committee, and Maulana Samiul Haq, who heads the outlawed TTP committee, read out for the media a handout which they said both sides had jotted down in agreement. They didn’t take questions.

Mr Siddiqui said he didn’t expect even “this much” after the first sitting.

As expected, the two committees challenged each other’s mandate of carrying out talks on behalf of their principals and sought explanations.

The government team sought clarification about the influence of a nine-member monitoring committee comprising senior TTP leaders on the three-member negotiating team of the militant organisation.

Maulana Sami demanded in writing powers and mandate of the government committee. He also wanted to know whether the government committee has enough powers to ensure that demands of the Taliban were met.

The Maulana had earlier said the prime minister and his committee were not independent enough to hold talks with the Taliban.

To test the government’s resolve, the Taliban committee wanted meetings with the army chief, director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence and the prime minister.

The government team asked for direct contact with the TTP Shura, the top decision-making body of the banned organisation.

Conscious of the fact that any violent act committed by the Taliban could derail peace talks, Mr Siddiqui and his three colleagues asked Maulana Sami to ensure that no such activity happened as long as the two sides were committed to negotiations.

The government team told the other side that the talks should be held within the parameters of the constitution and in the shortest possible time.

It also told the TTP committee that scope of talks would be restricted to insurgency-affected areas, which a government official explained will be limited to North Waziristan.

“If tomorrow the government has to get into some give and take, the deal would be restricted to the area where the TTP is in virtual control and the government lacks its writ,” the official said.The two sides agreed that there would be no action from either side which could harm the peace process and unanimously condemned recent terrorist attacks in the country.

Irfan Siddiqui, special assistant to the prime minister and coordinator of the committee, Rustam Shah Mohmand, a former Pakistan ambassador to Afghanistan, Peshawar-based journalist Rahimullah Yousufzai and former ISI operative retired Major Amir Khan represented the government.

Maulana Samiul Haq, Maulana Abdul Aziz of Lal Masjid and Professor Mohammad Ibrahim of Jamaat-i-Islami took part in the talks on behalf of the TTP.

Before commencement of talks, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan talked to Maulana Sami on phone and assured him of his ministry’s cooperation.

Television channels later reported that the Taliban committee had asked for a helicopter to fly to North Waziristan for consultation with its leadership.