After initial hesitation, the government selected three religious leaders to go to the tribal areas and hold talks with Taliban emissaries.
But the plan fell apart after Mehsud was killed.
The militants chose an anti-peace cleric, Mullah Fazlullah, as Mehsud's successor but the government has announced that it will make a fresh bid for peace.
The US guarantee on drone strikes appears to be a major policy shift by Washington, which had in the past opposed any peace deal with the militants.
