#Pakistan #PM #calls for #peace #talks with #Taliban #despite #attacks #NawazSharif tells #parliament he has #accepted #offer from #militants to start #negotiations following #spate of #violence Associated Press in Islamabad theguardian, Wednesday 29 January 2014 14.53 GMT Nawaz Sharif Pakistans prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, told parliament he wanted to give #peace another #chance. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images Pakistans prime minister has vowed that his government will pursue peace talks with Pakistani Taliban militants despite a recent spate of attacks and a pledge by the law minister of Punjab province to smash militant safe havens. Nawaz Sharif named a four-member committee to facilitate the negotiations, called on the militants to observe a ceasefire and condemned them for targeting security forces and civilians in recent months. Sharif has long supported talks as the best way to end the years of fighting in the countrys north-west. But after a spate of attacks in January, he has been under pressure to bring the countrys violence under control. Rana Sanaullah, Punjabs law minister and one of the prime ministers closest confidants, told the Guardian earlier this week that Pakistan was being put on a war footing. In a speech to parliament on Wednesday, Sharif said: It is necessary for the success of the talks to start this process with a good intention and it demands that the acts of terrorism be immediately stopped. Talks and terrorism cannot go side by side. He said he had decided to accept a recent offer by the militants to start negotiations. We want to give peace another chance by forgetting the bitter experience of the past, Sharif said. A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, Shahidullah Shahid, said the militant group had convened a meeting of its executive council to discuss the prime ministers offer and the negotiating team. Sharif has come under fire in the past for pursuing peace talks over military action against Pakistani Taliban militants in the north-west who have been trying to overthrow the government and enforce their brand of Islam across the country. Critics say the militants have broken numerous peace accords and simply use the negotiating time to gather their strength. theguardian/world/2014/jan/29/pakistan-nawaz-sharif-peace-talks-taliban?guni=Network%20front:network-front%20main-3%20Main%20trailblock:Network%20front%20-%20main%20trailblock:Position6
Posted on: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 16:20:59 +0000
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