Pak govt serious about peace talks with Taliban: Nawaz Sharif

Peshawar: The Pakistan government is serious about holding talks with the Taliban in keeping with a mandate given by all political parties, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said today. The government wants to take forward the talks process with the Taliban to achieve peace in the region, Sharif told reporters during a visit to the capital of the restive Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. [caption id=“attachment_1164839” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Nawaz Sharif. AFP[/caption] “The government has decided to hold talks with the militants in order to avoid more bloodshed in the country,” he said after chairing a meeting on the law and order situation. “The PML-N government has been mandated by the all parties conference to go in for talks with the militants,” he added. Soon after he assumed office in June, Sharif offered unconditional talks to the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, which has killed thousands of people in a series of bombings and suicide attacks over the past few years. The Taliban spurned Sharif’s offer after their deputy chief Waliur Rehman was killed in a US drone attack. Pakistani Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud has said he is open to “serious talks” but the government has not yet approached his group. “The government needs to sit with us, then we will present our conditions,” Mehsud told the BBC. During his interaction with the media at Governor House, Sharif contended that the two previous regimes did not take the issue of terrorism seriously and his government was confronted with this “gigantic problem” soon after coming to power. “We have invited suggestions from all stakeholders to arrest this issue once and for all,” he said. The raising of an anti-terrorism force is the need of the hour and all provinces should take steps in this direction, he said. A special law is being enacted to deal with cases involving terrorism, he added. The special law would ensure that terrorism-related cases are effectively tackled in courts and the perpetrators would not escape the law, Sharif said. The proposed law would put an end to loopholes in existing laws that favour the accused, who are often released on bail or because of the lack of evidence against them, he said. The premier further said Pakistan’s progress cannot be achieved without a stable economy and this requires resolving the energy crisis and terrorism. The two problems must also be addressed to attract internal and external investments, he added. In reply to a question, Sharif said US drone strikes must stop as they are against the sovereignty and integrity of Pakistan. No independent country can tolerate such violations of its territory, he said. He announced Rs 50 million will be paid the kin of those killed in recent bomb attacks in Qissa Khwani Bazar and on a bus carrying government employees. He also announced the allocation of Rs 200 million fund for a trust to be set up by minority Christians to rehabilitate victims of a twin suicide bomb attack on All Saints Church here on 22 September. The attack on the church killed over 80 people and injured 140 others. PTI