Pakistan: Neither the Government nor the Taliban Want to Talk

Neither the Pakistani government nor the Pakistani Taliban are seriously engaging in talks to try to end the seven-year insurgency in the country, despite recently announced calls for negotiations. On the contrary, each side is using the prospect of talks to gain leverage over the other. Eventually there will be some sort of deal toward a negotiated settlement, but that deal will not materialize anytime soon. More important, any deal would depend on the outcome of the peace talks between the United States and the Afghan Taliban.