Asked if the government and the Taliban were engaged in any back channel parleys, he said: “You cannot call it back-channel talks. The government committee and the Taliban-nominated committee were in touch with each other away from the media glare.
“We had sought an unconditional ceasefire from the Taliban for the talks, which were suspended due to terrorist acts, to move ahead.”
Siddiqui said the talks would “resume now and hopefully you will hear some good news”.
The government suspended the troubled peace process on February 17 after a Taliban faction beheaded 23 Frontier Corps personnel abducted in 2010.
Even as the two sides were holding talks, the Taliban carried out attacks in several parts of the country.
After the process was put on hold, military jets targeted Taliban hideouts in the restive tribal areas, killing over 100 terrorists.
Updated on: March 01, 2014 20:13 IST
