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   Pakistan Taliban Sets Preconditions for Talks as General Killed in Attack

   by VOA News

   Pakistan's Taliban has announced preconditions for peace talks with the
   government, as a roadside bomb killed a top army general and two others
   in the country's volatile northwest.
   Major General Sanaullah Khan was killed Sunday along with two other
   soldiers, after returning from a visit to an army outpost in the Upper
   Dir district near the country's border with Afghanistan.
   The Pakistani Taliban has reportedly claimed responsibility for the
   blast. Separately, a roadside bombing in North Waziristan killed at
   least one soldier and injured several others.
   The attacks comes after weeks of talks within the Pakistani government
   on whether to pursue peace negotiations with the militant group. Last
   week, politicians from the country's major political parties backed
   calls by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to begin negotiations.
   On Sunday, a spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban's leadership council
   welcomed the calls, but demanded the government release militant
   prisoners and begin withdrawing troops from tribal areas.
   Observers remain skeptical, saying previous negotiations with the
   Taliban have fallen apart and given the group more time to regroup
   before launching fresh attacks.
   Pakistan says more than 40,000 people have been killed in attacks by
   Taliban and other insurgents.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/pakistan-taliban-sets-preconditions-f
   or-talks-as-general-killed-in-attack/1750111.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/pakistan-taliban-sets-preconditions-for-talks-as-general-killed-in-attack/1750111.html