ISLAMABAD: Peace negotiators representing the government and Taliban looked utterly helpless when they met on Friday, a day after the deadly bomb attack on a police van claimed by the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Both sides condemned Thursday`s attack in Karachi, which left 13 police commandos dead, and called upon the TTP to stop such attacks as they were hampering peace efforts.

In a hand-written statement issued after their sitting in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House here, the four-member government committee categorically stated that if the TTP continued Karachi-like attacks, `peace dialogue cannot go ahead`.

`Therefore, the Taliban immediately make a clearcut announcement that they are shunning all activities which can spoil peace talks and follow up with concretesteps to ensure effective implementation on their declaration of ceasefire,` it added.

All four members of the government team Irfan Siddiqui, Rahimullah Yousufzai, Rustam Shah Mohmand and Major Amir attended the meeting.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Mohmand said: `We have told them in no-nonsense term that if the TTP continues its debilitating attacks, there is absolutely no chance of the peace dialogue going forward.

He said the Taliban committee had promised to come up with a response from the TTP leadership in the next few days.

The Taliban committee agreed with the government side`s suggestion for a ceasefire, but called upon the government to avoid any act which could adversely affect the peace process and cause unnecessary provocation.

The two sides should renounce use offorce.

Maulana Samiul Haq, Prof Mohammad Ibrahim and Maulana Yousuf Shah, representing the Taliban, attended the meeting. Maulana Abdul Aziz of Lal Masjid did not participate as he had announced last week that until the government agreed to impose `true` Sharia in the country, he would not attend the committee meetings.

Maulana Yousuf Shah has not been nominated by the TTP; he only acts as a focal person of the TTP committee on behalf of Maulana Samiul Haq, chief of his own faction of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam.

In the concluding line,the government team reiterated its stance that only after an effective end to the anti-peace process activities by the TTP, further steps would be taken to create an environment conducive to talks.

The effusiveness displayed by the negotiators from both sides at their first formal meeting on Feb 6 appeared to have faded away with thekilling of police commandos. Neither was there any exchange of pleasantries in front of TV cameras nor did they speak positively about each other.

The two sides avoided talking to media outside the KP House. The media was given only a handwritten Urdu statement.

A virtually fleeing (in his car) Maulana Samiul Haq was asked a flurry ofquestions, but he only said the situation would improve in coming days.

`There is no deadlock, I am hopeful the two sides will soon announce ceasefire.

However, during the quick chat the Maulana criticised Irfan Siddiqui, special assistant to the prime minister on national affairs and coordinator of the government committee, for giving statements to the media about peace talks.

Talking to BBC earlier in the day, Mr Siddiqui expressed concern over the TTP accepting responsibility for the attack on policemen and vowing to carry out similar attacks in future. `We even didn`t condemn recent terrorist attacks in which the TTP said it wasn`t involved.

However, no positive signs are coming from the Taliban side,` he regretted.

Talking to Dawn, another member of the government committee said that at the moment peace talks were heading nowhere.

`We have a sitting mem-ber of the cabinet on our side while Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has pledged in the National Assembly that our recommendations will be implemented. But on the other hand, the TTP committee has to seek Taliban leadership`s endorsement for its decisions. Today we have asked them to get this anomaly resolved if they want to carry on with the peace process,` he said.

Asked about reports that the TTP had sought withdrawal of army from South and North Waziristan, enforcement of Sharia and exchange of non-combatant prisoners between the two sides, the member said negotiations on these conditions would start only after the TTP stopped killing innocent people.

He said that after the Karachi bombing, the government had come under tremendous pressure to take a firm stance against the TTP.

He said the government committee was in constant touch with the prime minister, who is at present in Turkey.