Sunday, March 2, 2025
spot_img

Pak Taliban considers peace talks

Date:

Share post:

spot_img
spot_img

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Taliban movement, the country’s biggest security threat, has suggested it would consider peace talks with the US-backed government, a local newspaper reported on Monday.

Pakistani leaders said after an all-party meeting attended by top military and intelligence officials last month they would seek reconciliation with militants to end an insurgency.

And Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani was quoted by newspapers as saying the government was ready to talk peace.

”Our shura (council) will decide whether and when can we enter into talks with the government, with the military,” the Express Tribune quoted Maulvi Wali-ur-Rehman Mehsud, deputy leader of the Pakistani Taliban, as saying.

”But I think we would like to involve countries we trust … they are in the Arab world. Let’s say Saudi Arabia.”

Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or Taliban Movement of Pakistan (TTP), which is close to al Qaeda, was formed in December 2007 as an alliance of Pakistani militant groups to attack the Pakistani state.

It has been blamed for many of the suicide bombings across Pakistan.

Several army offensives against the group’s strongholds on the Afghan border have failed to weaken its campaign. Thousands of Pakistani soldiers, policemen and civilians have been killed in the conflict.

”Until now, we don’t have any direct peace offer … our shura will sit down when we are approached. That is how we operate. There is one centralised body to take important decisions,” the newspaper quoted Mehsud as saying on its website.

Any shift towards reconciliation with the TTP could anger Washington.

Last year, the United States added the TTP to its list of foreign terrorist organizations and set rewards for information leading to the capture of two of its leaders.

Ties are already heavily strained by the unilateral US special forces raid that killed Osama bin Laden in a Pakistani town in May, and American accusations that Islamabad supports militants who attack US forces in Afghanistan. (UNI)

spot_img
spot_img

Related articles

Maha: One arrested in harassment case of Union Minister’s daughter, hunt on of 6 others

Muktainagar (Maharashtra), March 2 : Jalgaon Police on Sunday confirmed the arrest of one of the seven accused...

Kashmiris engage in prayers, charities in holy month of Ramzan

Srinagar, March 2 : The holy Muslim fasting month of Ramzan started in Jammu and Kashmir along with...

Chamoli avalanche: CM Dhami reaches Disaster Operations Centre, monitors search ops

Chamoli, March 2: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Sunday visited the Disaster Operations Centre and held...

India will be at forefront of AI era, says Piyush Goyal

Mumbai, March 2: With the Modi government’s sound policies playing the role of an enabler for entrepreneurs and...