ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday directed the four-member committee formed to facilitate talks with Taliban militants to immediately start the dialogue process with the Taliban.
A first meeting of the four-member dialogue committee was held in Islamabad on Friday with prime minister in the chair to discuss in detail the framework and strategy for the talks.
During the meeting, the prime minister expressed the desire to achieve the objective of peace through negotiations.
The prime minister said that the dialogue committee is fully empowered in the dialogue process and directed the federal minister for interior Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan to provide the required information and resources to the committee.
Sharif said that the committee should immediately establish contacts with those groups willing to hold talks.
On Wednesday, in his address to the National Assembly the prime minister constituted a four-member committee for talks with the Taliban, saying the government has adopted the path of talks with the Taliban to give peace another chance in the lager interest of the country.
The committee members:
The committee includes the premier’s advisor on national affairs Irfan Siddiqui‚ veteran journalist Rahimullah Yusufzai‚ former ambassador and expert on Afghanistan affairs Rustam Shah Mehmand and former ISI official Major (retd) Muhammad Amir, while the federal interior minister who remained a focal person for the dialogue process will assist the committee and he will personally monitor the whole process.
