ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday welcomed the team announced by the Taliban to hold talks with government’s committee and hoped the dialogue will yield positive outcome.
Talking to senior journalists in Lahore on Monday, the prime minister said that the government is serious to overcome terrorism through dialogue as peace is vital to ensure revival of economy.
The prime minister said that restoration of peace through dialogue will the best option for the country.
Sharif said that the government will hold talks with all seriousness to bring peace to the country.
On Sunday, the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) offered to provide security and protection to members of the negotiating committees in areas under its control.
In a statement, the TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said that the political Shura of the Taliban would guide the five-member committee nominated by it. The committee comprises Maulana Samiul Haq, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan, Lal Masjid Khateeb Maulana Abdul Aziz, Jamaat-i-Islami’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief Professor Muhammad Ibrahim and former MPA Mufti Kifayatullah of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam – Fazl.
The TTP spokesman said that the Taliban sincerely wanted peace talks with the government.
Shahidullah Shahid said that the government should not repeat the mistakes of its predecessors when negotiations were used as a weapon against the Taliban and, therefore, peace could not be restored.
Moreover, he said that the TTP’s central Shura had decided after deliberations to form a committee that could easily approach the government team and also represent the Taliban’s point of view in a better way.
