IN the ebb and flow of negotiations between the federal government and the outlawed TTP, the government appears to have lost its way of late.

Everything seems to be taking place on the TTP’s timeline and to the TTP’s liking, be it the extension of the ceasefire or the release of prisoners or when and how to engage the government in the next round of talks.

Meanwhile, the government seems reduced to, if not quite grovelling, waiting around for the TTP to decide if it still wants to talk and which further concessions it will demand from the government.

Sadly, even the most forceful public criticism of the government’s negotiations strategy is also proving to be myopic with the PPP seemingly focused on just the release of two scions of party members instead of a broader criticism of a process that is turning out to be lopsided.

If there is anything that can be discerned about the government’s approach to negotiating with the TTP it is this: keep the ceasefire going as long as possible.

Beyond that there is little that can be said about what the government has demanded so far of the TTP. Abiding by the Constitution and keeping any deal confined to a geographical area where the TTP is in the ascendant were the baselines set by the government.

But what do those mean in practice? Where, for example, are the demands to hand over militants who are caught violating the ceasefire? And if even that small demand has not been made, then what of the more significant, and important ones, such as renouncing violence, expelling foreign militants and allowing the state apparatus to function freely again in Fata and parts of KP? Unhappily, the show being run by Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan with the explicit backing of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is drifting towards farce with the government making many promises while the TTP merrily goes along their way.

In fact, so lopsided has the process become that the TTP has turned to deal with internal schisms and fighting first while essentially telling the government to wait until the TTP leadership is ready to focus on talks again. Surely, this is not what dialogue was meant to be?