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Pak PM backtracks, says dialogue better option
Afp, Islamabad Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif yesterday scotched speculation his government would launch an offensive against the Taliban following a wave of bloody attacks, saying he wanted to "give the peaceful solution another chance".
His comments came after one of his ministers on Tuesday told the Guardian that the time had finally come to "smash" militant safe havens and Pakistan military is preparing for an assault.
Sharif's government has come under fire for failing to come up with a strategy to respond to a surge in militant violence, which has seen more than 114 people killed in attacks since the start of the year, according to an AFP tally.
Sharif was elected to office last year vowing to bring an end to a homegrown Taliban insurgency that has raged since 2007, by engaging militants in meaningful dialogue.
But preliminary efforts to reach out to the Taliban ended after a US drone strike killed their then-leader Hakimullah Mehsud in November.
In a highly-anticipated address to Pakistan's parliament yesterday, Sharif slammed the Taliban for rejecting the government's first offer of talks and distorting the teachings of Islam, adding: "Our very existence is endangered. We cannot make the nation and the country hostage to militants."
He continued: "I know that today if state wants to eliminate terrorists by force, the entire nation will stand by it, however, when the offer of talks has come to fore from the other side, we ... want to give the peaceful solution another chance."
To aid in the renewed dialogue efforts Sharif said he would form a four-man committee that includes leading journalist Rahimullah Yousufzai.
Published: 12:01 am Thursday, January 30, 2014
Last modified: 1:56 am Thursday, January 30, 2014
Pak PM backtracks, says dialogue better option
Afp, Islamabad Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif yesterday scotched speculation his government would launch an offensive against the Taliban following a wave of bloody attacks, saying he wanted to "give the peaceful solution another chance".
His comments came after one of his ministers on Tuesday told the Guardian that the time had finally come to "smash" militant safe havens and Pakistan military is preparing for an assault.
Sharif's government has come under fire for failing to come up with a strategy to respond to a surge in militant violence, which has seen more than 114 people killed in attacks since the start of the year, according to an AFP tally.
Sharif was elected to office last year vowing to bring an end to a homegrown Taliban insurgency that has raged since 2007, by engaging militants in meaningful dialogue.
But preliminary efforts to reach out to the Taliban ended after a US drone strike killed their then-leader Hakimullah Mehsud in November.
In a highly-anticipated address to Pakistan's parliament yesterday, Sharif slammed the Taliban for rejecting the government's first offer of talks and distorting the teachings of Islam, adding: "Our very existence is endangered. We cannot make the nation and the country hostage to militants."
He continued: "I know that today if state wants to eliminate terrorists by force, the entire nation will stand by it, however, when the offer of talks has come to fore from the other side, we ... want to give the peaceful solution another chance."
To aid in the renewed dialogue efforts Sharif said he would form a four-man committee that includes leading journalist Rahimullah Yousufzai.
Published: 12:01 am Thursday, January 30, 2014
Last modified: 1:56 am Thursday, January 30, 2014