TTP’s bid for political legitimacy may fail due to trust deficit

Peshawar: The ongoing bid of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan to enter the political mainstream in Pakistan may face obstruction as several experts think that the outlawed group will harm and shrink political spaces for the citizens of this country as would they agree to lay arms.
To “gain political legitimacy”, the TTP recently praised the Federal Shariat Court’s order to the government to implement an Islamic, interest-free banking system within five years. Islamabad agreed to hold fresh talks with the group under the auspices of the interim Taliban government.
“Through its political statements, it appears that the TTP is preparing its foot-soldiers to work within the constitutional framework of the country,” he said while terming the efforts an attempt to reposition the group in line with its agenda.
For experts and victims of the violence perpetrated by the TTP during its reign of terror, it is very difficult to trust the militant outfit, as several questions about the future of the talks and their possible fallout remain unaddressed.
The primary reason behind this trust deficit is the fact that the militant outfit backtracked on its promises made during multiple rounds of talks in return for peace in the tribal districts since TTP’s establishment in December 2007 and their fallout remained unaddressed, Dawn reported.
After the Afghan Taliban captured Kabul in August 2021, the unforeseen exodus of US-led Nato forces gave the group a new lease of life, as the latter reorganized itself and Islamabad also agreed to hold fresh talks with the group under the patronage of the interim Taliban government.