International conflict experts from Kent discussed negotiating with non-state armed groups with senior Pakistani politicians, military and police officials.
Dr Harmonie Toros and Dr Govinda Clayton of the University’s School of Politics and International Relations, introduced and facilitated two sessions. Dr Toros, a member of the University’s Conflict Analysis Research Group and senior lecturer in International Conflict Analysis, led a session on understandings of legitimacy in negotiations with non-state armed groups.
Dr Clayton, Deputy Director of the Conflict Analysis Research Centre, led the session on the characteristics of non-state armed groups on the onset and outcome of negotiations. The workshop concluded with a general agreement that the question was not whether there should be negotiations with non-state armed groups, but how and when one should negotiate with them.
Pakistan has a long history of terrorist violence. In April this year, 75 people were killed and more than 300 injured in a central park in Lahore.
The University of Kent’s Diplomacy@Kent Beacon Project, the University of Management and Technology in Lahore and the Terrorism Research Initiative – Pakistan Chapter – hosted the one-day workshop held in Lahore, Pakistan, on 12 July.
The Kent team was furthered supported in facilitating the workshop ‘Role of third parties in negotiations with non-state armed groups’ by Tahir Aziz, head of the South Asia Programme of Conciliation Resources, a world-leading NGO in conflict resolution, which played key roles in negotiations in the Philippines and in Colombia. Participants also included senior military officials – including Maj Gen. (Ret.) Azhar Ali Shah – senior police officials, counter-terrorism experts, and Pakistani academics.
The day led to a clear engagement of all the participants. They included many with considerable experience negotiating with non-state armed groups like Senator Afrasaib Khattak who negotiated with the Pakistan Taliban in 2008 and 2009. He told the conference that the distrust among the parties was so high that, during the negotiations, his counterparts insisted that two members of their team wear vests laden with explosives throughout the negotiation.