October 2021: During govt of Khan-Bajwa hybrid regime, Faiz conducted peace talks hosted by TTA. He famously gifted Nur Wali a bulletproof Lexus during these talks. There was a ceasefire for one month.

June 2022: During PDM-Bajwa hybrid regime, Faiz along with politicians and tribal jirga leadership conducted another set of peace talks hosted by Afghan Taliban. This led to a 6 month ceasefire.

Sometime between the 2021 negotiations and 2022 negotiations, TTP fighters are said to be resettled in KP as confidence building measures.

July 2022: another delgation led by Barrister Saif along with Mufti Taqi Usmani went to Afghanistan to continue peace talks with TTP.

TTP unilaterally withdrew from the 6 month long ceasefire near the second half of 2022.

February 2023: High level delegation visited Afghanistan led by Khawaja Asif, TTP on the agenda.

January 2024: Maulana Falzur Rehman visited Afghanistan, once again with TTP on the agenda.

April 2025: Ishaq Dar visited Afghanistan, TTP was one of the issues on the agenda

This list does not even include various trilateral summits held by friendly countries like China.

This list also does not include Afghan delegation visits to Pak, in which TTP would have also been discussed.

There has also been many attempts at local jirgas having negotiations with TTP (with fouj support) throughout the whole process latest being ones that are scheduled for this month (Oct 2025)

In short, dialogue with TTP and Afg has been exhaustive and nonstop. So why have these negotiations not been successful? What is preventing a peace deal?

Pakistanis must realize that TTA patronage for TTP leadership makes it impossible for TTP to negotiate in good faith. Why would they negotiate when they are having success on the battlefield, their leadership

Is safe, they are being given funds and arms? Pakistanis must also realize that until Pakistan is in a position of power, TTP demands will be more than we can afford to meet.

So what were the TTP's demands during the negotiations back in 2021/2022?

The demands made by TTP during the negotiations were: - Reversal of FATA merger - Significant reduction of Pak army in FATA - Implementation of their interpretation of Shariah in FATA - Release of over 100 TTP commanders and fighters from custody and amnesty for others

- Guarantee of complete freedom of movement for TTP members within the Malakand region. These demands were considered non-negotiable by the TTP and formed the core issues in the peace talks.

Which Pakistani would like to condemn millions of its citizens to live under TTP? Girls schools would be closed. Economic activity would cease. Mainland Pak would get more economic migrants from this region. Criminals from mainland Pak would get safe haven in FATA.

On top of that, is there a guarentee that TTP or TTA wouldnt use FATA to launch attacks against Pakistan in the future? Remember TTA still doesnt recognize the international border and that is not going to change.

So does this mean negotiations are useless? No. Imran Khan is right and even Generals with functioning brains (like Gen (R) Tariq say this: all major conflicts end with dialogue.

Where Imran Khan gets it wrong is that you cant negotiate from a weak position. The other side will demand the world. You have to get into a position of power. We have to get TTP to be flexible on their demands. This will require military power not kind words that

Some people seem to think. This may require some confrontation with Afghan Taliban if they continue to support TTP, because like I said, with this patronage, TTP will never come to the table in good faith.