Pakistan's Taliban movement, a major security threat to the country, is holding exploratory peace talks with the U.S.-backed government, a senior Taliban commander and mediators said Monday.
The United States, the source of billions of dollars of aid vital for Pakistan's military and feeble economy, is unlikely to look kindly on peace talks with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which it has labeled a terrorist group.
Past peace pacts with the TTP have failed to bring stability, and merely gave the umbrella group time and space to consolidate, launch fresh attacks and impose their austere version of Islam on segments of the population.
'Difficult'
The discussions are focused on the South Waziristan region on the Afghan border and could be expanded to try to reach a comprehensive deal.
A senior Taliban commander told NBC News that the talks were in "an initial and difficult stage." He added that the while the negotiations had not yet achieved any tangible results, they were "going in the right direction."
The Taliban, who are close to al-Qaida, made several demands, including the release of prisoners.
A peace deal between the authorities and the Pakistani Taliban could represent the best hope of ending years of fighting that has killed thousands of security personnel and civilians.
But it is unclear whether the preliminary talks will gain traction or if the Pakistani Taliban are unified enough to actually strike a deal. It is also uncertain whether a deal could last.
However, Washington's push for a peace deal with the Afghan Taliban could make it difficult to oppose an agreement in Pakistan.
"Yes, we have been holding talks. We will see if there is a breakthrough," a senior Taliban commander, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters.
"Right now, this is at the South Waziristan level. If successful, we can talk about a deal for all the tribal areas," he said, referring to Pashtun lands along the Afghan border.
The TTP, which is allied with the Afghan Taliban movement fighting U.S.-led NATO forces in Afghanistan, is entrenched in the unruly areas along the porous border.
Pakistan has come under pressure to eradicate militancy since U.S. special forces in May killed Osama bin Laden in a Pakistani town, where he had apparently been living for years.
Pakistan's government and military have said they had no idea bin Laden was in Pakistan and have yet to explain the intelligence gap.
The operation enraged Pakistan's military, which branded it a violation of sovereignty and then reduced cooperation on intelligence critical for U.S. efforts to stabilize the region as it winds down combat operations in Afghanistan.
"The U.S. won't be happy," said Rahimullah Yusufzai, a Pakistani expert on the Taliban. "If there is less pressure from Pakistan on the militants then they (the Pakistani Taliban) will turn their attention to Afghanistan."
Speculation on peace talks has been rife since the government said in a September all-party conference on a crisis in relations with the United States that it would attempt negotiations with militants to bring peace.
"We never wanted to fight to begin with," said the senior Taliban commander. "Our aim was to rid Afghanistan of foreign forces. But the Pakistani government, by supporting America, left us no choice but to fight."
Since bin Laden's death, the TTP has vowed to attack Western targets abroad.
The government delegations that held preliminary talks with the Pakistani Taliban over roughly the past six months have included former civilian and military officials and tribal elders, the intelligence officials and a senior militant commander said in recent interviews with The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks.
The TTP was formed in 2007 and is blamed for many of the suicide bombings across nuclear-armed Pakistan, one of the world's most unstable but strategically important countries.
Audacious attacks
Its founder, Baitullah Mehsud, was killed by a U.S. drone aircraft missile strike in northwest Pakistan in 2009.
The group has staged audacious attacks on government installations, even army headquarters near the capital, and the violence has also killed many civilians.
While its activities have been almost entirely confined to Pakistan, the TTP has shown an interest in expanding its range under the banner of al-Qaida.
A suicide bombing at a U.S. base in Afghanistan's Khost province in 2009, carried out by a Jordanian national, killed seven Central Intelligence Agency employees.
In video footage released after the attack, the bomber was shown sitting with Mehsud, a stark illustration of growing links between the Pakistani insurgents and foreign militants.
A Pakistani-born American who tried to set off a car bomb in New York's Times Square last year told a U.S. court he got bomb-making training and funding from the Pakistani Taliban.
The TTP staged a series of attacks to avenge bin Laden's death. They claimed responsibility for an attack on a naval base in Pakistan's biggest city and commercial capital Karachi in May which embarrassed the powerful military.