Pakistan will not accept any pressure on Taliban talks policy

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said on Tuesday it will not accept any foreign pressure on its policy to hold talks with the Taliban.  

 The country’s senior political leaders at a government’s sponsored conference called upon the government to initiate dialogue with the Taliban to end violence, which has claimed lives of over 40,000 people over the past 10 years.

Nisar said decision to initiate process of dialogue with the militants is home-made and that the resolution for talks with the Taliban adopted by the All Parties Conference was an outcome of the consensus not only among political leadership but also the military leadership.

The Interior Minister told a news conference that the message emanating from the conference was welcomed instantly by Taliban‚ which augurs well for peace.

“We want to extricate the country from the vicious cycle of bloodshed in the name of Islam and Pakistan.”

He said the conference has given mandate to the Government for dialogue and a framework for the purpose is ready. “Both political parties and media would be kept abreast of the progress as and when needed.”

He said the procedure and agenda of the dialogue would be prepared by the government.

The Interior Minister clarified that the attitude of the military leadership encouraged political leaders to move towards consensus.

Replying to questions‚ Ch. Nisar Ali Khan said efforts for peace and reconciliation were initiated soon after elections but these were sabotaged through drone strikes. He said contacts with certain people who are interested in bringing about peace in the region continued over the last two months and even after the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan withdrew its offer of dialogue.

He said the venue‚ level of discussions and demands would become clear after the first interaction, adding it would be their priority to address issues involved one by one as the situation if complicated and there is no quick fix solution.

In an apparent reference to the past‚ the Interior Minister said the decision to hold dialogue was not taken to pave the way for military operation‚ rather the entire leadership of the country sincerely wanted to resolve the issue through peaceful means.

To a question‚ he said the Army Chief told political leaders that he was not aware of any understanding with the United States on drone strikes.

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Posted by Tahir Khan on Sep 10 2013. Filed under Latest News, National, Pakistan, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.