Pak minister calls on cricket to restart peace talks with Taliban

In a bid for peace, Pakistan Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan today invited the Taliban to play a cricket match and claimed that members of the banned group keenly follow the game. Khan was talking to reporters in Rawalpindi after he himself hit a few shots during a cricket tournament in Garrison city where he was the chief guest at the event. [caption id=“attachment_1406371” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Pakistani Interior Minister suggested a game of cricket in a bid to restart peace talks with Taliban: Reuters[/caption] The Minister said if a cricket match with Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) takes place, the outcome will be positive. “The inputs suggest that Taliban keenly follow cricket,” he said in comments aired live on news channels. Khan is one of the key ministers who was overseeing the government’s efforts to engage the TTP in peace talks. The process was suspended last week after a Taliban faction executed 23 troops taken hostage in 2010. Khan said Pakistan is a peaceful country but its enemies want to spread terrorism there. He said cricket was a sport that signifies peace, friendship and brotherhood. PTI